Congratulations to Arlesdene Nursery and Pre-school on its Autism Inclusion Award! Arlesdene is a Hertfordshire-based school, providing support to children of all abilities.  

Our team works with schools and services across the UK. Applying for the award is a brilliant opportunity for services to improve the support they offer autistic people, and learn more about autism in the process. You can find out more about the award and how to get involved here.

To celebrate this achievement, we caught up with Arlesdene’s Headteacher, Claire Cobain. Claire chatted to us about why she applied for the award, what the process involved, and her hopes for Arlesdene’s future.  

Why did you apply for the Inclusion award? 

 We have been supporting autistic children for many years at Arlesdene. During this time, staff have developed fantastic skills and as a school we have a wonderful reputation for our SEND (Special Education Needs and Disability) work.  

Our ethos at Arlesdene is that we don't expect children to have to change to fit in. It's staff who need to change their way of thinking, so that all children can succeed. 

I wanted our school to gain recognition for its outstanding SEND support, and for our staff to be celebrated for their amazing work. 

How has taking part in the award scheme helped you, your staff and the children you support? 

Taking part in the award process has given our staff so much confidence. It feels great to know that the support we provide has been recognised.   

Here are some small changes we’ve made to support our autistic children and their families: 

• Some of our children find it difficult to wait in a busy entrance, so we adjust the start and finish times so that children do not have to wait to come into Nursery. 
• Another child found it difficult to come straight into the classroom, so we now open the garden entrance. All children enter through the garden and can choose whether they want to play inside or outside. 
• We let children carry objects into Nursery, such as comfort toys. We make sure these are kept safe so that children can access them when they need to. 
• We realise that parents face challenges all day, every day at home, so we try to make sure that any handover is always positive. 

How do you feel the award will benefit you in the future? 

Since taking part in the award, we have already been contacted by some local schools and our Early Years Advisory Team. We've had requests for visits to the Nursery to watch how staff support children - including using PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) and Now and Next boards. 

Maintained nursery schools are often under financial threat. I am hoping that the award will help change this, so we can continue to give autistic children the pre-school support they need and deserve on a long-term basis.