Essential AET Partner Information

Thank you for sharing your opinions.  

Thank you to those of you who completed our ‘Enhancing the AET Partnership’ survey and have shared your views across a range of AET brand related questions, including what you might like to see change about the Programme, what you value most about the AET, and your thoughts on the current AET logo and business name.

The survey closed on 9th June, and we are now collating your responses to develop plans moving forward.  Nicola Powell, the Head of AET, will be attending the next lead trainer network meetings in July to share progress to date.

Monthly AET Trainer Development Opportunities (TDO) Sessions

We invite people from all walks of life to come and talk about topics and share their unique perspectives relating autism specifically for you, our national AET trainer network, to support you in this role.  Have a look at the AET trainer development opportunities web page for all the information.

Next TDO session – Tuesday 1st July at 11am – 12.30pm – Autistic Burnout, Jodie Clarke (Smitten)  

Jodie is a neurodivergent author of books such as ‘Young, Autistic and Burnt Out’. In this session, Jodie will focus her discussion on autistic burnout through the lived experience/voice of autistic children and young people, discuss the current research and share helpful support strategies

Previous TDO sessions

In June, Chris Hoyle from Sleep Therapy Services shared research around autism and sleep, explored case studies and shared a top tip toolkit to support autistic children, young people and families.  

The recording and handouts for this session, along with the recordings and associated documents for all previous sessions, can be found on your AET website trainer account. Do have a look and use the new information you have learnt to enhance your training narrative and wider educational support.

AET Resources Update – new and updated resources to be aware of:

Now the AET is fully sustainable as part of the National Autistic Society and no longer requires government funding, the DfE logo will gradually be removed from the AET materials. 

This is starting with the Early Years and Schools Good Autism Practice training modules which have been reviewed and updated based on your feedback. These updated training modules will be available on your accounts at the end of June/beginning of July.

The updated Early Years and Schools Making Sense of Autism training modules are now available on your accounts.  

If you have feedback on the AET materials, that you would like to share with the content team, please complete this form.

World Autism Acceptance Month April 2025 Resources  

Celebrations!!  There were very nearly 10,000 downloads of the AET World Autism Acceptance Month materials from the AET website this year.  The resources remain available for you to use through your AET trainer account. Scroll to the bottom of your Resources webpage on your AET trainer account and you will find them in a tile called World Autism Acceptances Month Resources 2025.  

AET Professional Development Programme for Wales

We are delighted to be extending our partnerships in Wales.  Following our exciting partnership with Monmouthshire, we were really pleased to deliver an energetic face-to-face induction session with our new AET Partner in Cardiff earlier this month.  

A very warm welcome to their teams and we look forward to welcoming more AET Partners across Wales in the coming months.  

Lead trainer Network Meetings July 2025

Calling lead trainers! We look forward to seeing you at the lead trainer network meetings which are taking place next month:

• North (NE, NW, EM, WM, Y & H) lead trainer regional network meeting Tuesday 8th July 11.30am - 1.30pm.
• South (SW, SE, London, East) lead trainer regional network Wednesday 9th July 9.30am - 11.30am.  

Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS)  

Now the PINs project has moved into phase two, we are updating our AET Partner meetings to take place once per month – the first Wednesday of every month from 2nd July.  Due to holidays, the session in August will be cancelled and the monthly session will begin again from Wednesday 3rd September.  An updated calendar invitation will be sent through to those involved very soon.  

These meetings provide a space for Partners to share experiences and ask advice of one another.  

Please email lyn.byatt@autismeducationtrust.org.uk if you would like to join the meetings or have any queries regarding this.

Virtual Administrators Drop in Surgery

Our next session will take place on Monday 29th September 12.30pm – 1.30pm.  Have a look at the Partner home page of your AET website administrator account for full information.  

NeuroShow 2025, 10 – 11 October 2025, virtual.

Neuroshow is a bold and empowering space where those interested in neurodiversity come together. Neurodivergent voices lead the conversation, along with researchers, practitioners and innovators. Included are talks, real stories, cutting-edge ideas, all with neurodivergent people at the centre.

You can find more information about the event here.

We have secured a discounted rate for our AET Partners of £70 for both days, available until the end of June. Here is the registration link, please use code AET_10 when registering.

National Autistic Society Heritage Project

Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the National Autistic Society’s ‘In our Words: Sixty years of the National Autistic Society and the story of autism in the UK’ project has now been completed.  You can find out more at this link.  

As always, please contact partner@autismeducationtrust.org.uk with any queries.  

We want your opinions!  

We will very soon be asking for your views via our ‘Enhancing the AET Partnership’ survey across a range of AET brand related questions, including what you might like to see change about the Programme, what you value most about the AET, and even your thoughts on the current AET logo and business name.

This piece of work is vital to help us to continue to meet your programme training needs in an ever-changing and increasingly complex educational landscape.

Please look out for the ‘Enhancing the AET Partnership’ survey and get involved and share your views and opinions with us. This will support our collective goal of developing culture change nationally and creating better outcomes for autistic children and young people.

Meet the Head of AET 

We are pleased to let you know that Nicola Powell is now the Head of AET.  

Some of you will know Nicola as she has been involved with the AET for 4 years, most recently as Assistant Director for Operations.  

Nicola is looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible at the upcoming network meetings. 

Monthly AET Trainer Development Opportunities (TDO) Sessions

We invite people from all walks of life to come and talk about topics and share their unique perspectives relating autism specifically for you, our national AET trainer network, to support you in this role.  Have a look at the AET trainer development opportunities web page for all the information. 

Next TDO session – Tuesday 3rd June at 11am – 12.30pm – Autism and Sleep, Chris Hoyle from Sleep Therapy Services  

In this session, Chris will share key research around autism and sleep, explore case-studies and share a top tip toolkit to support autistic children, young people and families.

Previous TDO sessions

In May, Helen Cooke shared her work on gathering the voice of ‘Triple A’ students (Autistic, Able and Anxious). This included her findings about gathering the student's voice, teaching them to identify and name their anxieties, and learning some vital self-advocacy skills to use in school. The recording and handouts for this session, along with the recordings and associated documents for all previous sessions, can be found on your AET website trainer account. Do have a look and use the new information you have learnt in your training and wider educational support.

AET Resources Update – new and updated resources to be aware of:

Anxious Non-Attendance training module - this new training module has now been added to your account and is available for you to deliver.  Along with the module materials, there is also a familiarisation video to support you to familiarise yourself with the new module.  

Following your feedback, the Early Years and Schools Making Sense of Autism training modules have been reviewed and updated. These are now available on your AET website accounts alongside information on the updates. Please move towards using the updated version by the start of the autumn term.

Early Years and Schools Good Autism Practice training modules are also being reviewed and updated based on your feedback. These will be available later in the summer term.

If you have feedback on the AET materials, that you would like to share with the content team, please complete the form at this link.  

NAS ‘Know Yourself’ resources for Autistic Teenagers 

The ‘Know Yourself’ series offers free resources (videos, PDFs, worksheets) to support autistic teenagers in understanding what being autistic means to them.  

Autism Central for Parents and Carers 

There are lots of free resources available on the Autism Central website to support parents and carers including a new Sensory Processing Podcast  

Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS)  

Our fortnightly meetings for AET Partners delivering PINS 2025 - 2026 have now begun. These meetings provide a space for Partners to share experiences and ask advice of one another.  

Please email lyn.byatt@autismeducationtrust.org.uk if you would like to join the meetings or have any queries regarding this. 

Virtual Administrators Drop in Surgery 

Our next session will take place on Monday 2nd June 12.30pm – 1.30pm.  You can find full details and the meeting link on the Partner home page of your AET website administrator account.  Look forward to seeing you there!  

NAS Parliamentary Event 

On 23rd January, the NAS hosted an event in Parliament to highlight to MPs that autistic people are facing daily battles to get the support they need. MPs heard directly from autistic people and received a copy of the report called ‘A Constant Fight’. You can find information about the event and the report itself here. 

NeuroShow 2025, 10 – 11 October 2025, virtual. 

Neuroshow is a bold and empowering space where those interested in neurodiversity come together. Neurodivergent voices lead the conversation, along with researchers, practitioners and innovators. Included are talks, real stories, cutting-edge ideas, all with neurodivergent people at the centre. 

You can find more information about the event at this link. 

We have secured a discounted rate for our AET Partners of £70 for both days, available until 29th May. Here is the registration link, please use code AET_10 when registering. 

As always, please contact partner@autismeducationtrust.org.uk with any queries. 

Monthly AET Trainer Development Opportunities (TDO) Sessions 

We invite people from all walks of life to come and talk about topics and share their unique perspectives relating autism specifically for you, our national AET trainer network, to support you in this role.   

These take place on the first working Tuesday of every month between 11am – 12.30pm (apart from April and August) and are recorded, the recording accessible via your AET website trainer account.  

The AET trainer development opportunities web page provides full information of all the sessions and includes the Microsoft Teams meeting link and instructions for joining each session.  

Next TDO session – Tuesday 6th May at 11am – 12.30pm – Helen Cooke, Neurodiversity Service Lead – Every Voice Matters (but are we really listening?) 

Helen will share her work in gathering the voice of ‘Triple A’ students (Autistic, Able and Anxious). She will share her findings about gathering the child’s voice, teaching them to identify and name their anxieties, and learning some vital self-advocacy skills to use in school. Helen will use a Year 9 girl as a case study.  

Previous TDO sessions 

There are a large number of previous sessions on a range of topics available on your AET website accounts to watch and access the handouts and additional documents.  Do have a look and use your learning to support your narrative when delivering training and supporting others. 

AET Resources Update – new and updated resources to be aware of: 

Anxious Non-Attendance training module - this new training module has now been added to your account and is available for you to deliver.  Along with the module materials, there is also a familiarisation video to support you to familiarise yourself with the new module.  

Following your feedback, the Early Years and Schools Making Sense of Autism training modules have been reviewed and updated. These will be available later this month on your AET website accounts alongside information on the updates. The previous versions will remain on your AET website accounts in the summer term as you move towards using the updated version. 

Early Years and Schools Good Autism Practice training modules are also being reviewed and updated based on your feedback. These will be available later in the summer term. 

If you have feedback on the AET materials, that you would like to share with the content team, please complete the form at this link.  

World Autism Acceptance Month (WAAM) April 2025 

With World Autism Acceptance Month well underway, all the resources are available for you to use on the resources page of your AET website account. Scroll down to the bottom of the resources page to the ‘More Information’ section.  

The registration page for all is live.  Please do share this link widely.  

Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS)  

As PINS moves into its next phase, we are continuing to offer the fortnightly meetings for Partners from May 2025. A calendar invitation has been sent to those on our current AET Partner PINS distribution list, please do let us know if you would like to be added. These meetings provide a space for Partners to share experiences and ask advice of one another.  

Please email lyn.byatt@autismeducationtrust.org.uk with any queries regarding this.  

Virtual Administrators Drop in Surgery 

The new dates and meeting link for the next round of virtual administrator’s drop in surgeries (April 2025 – March 2026) are now detailed on the Partner Homepage of your AET website administrators account.  Please do have a look and add holding slots in your own calendars.  The next one will take place on Monday 2nd June 12.30pm – 1.30pm, look forward to seeing you there.   

As always, please contact partner@autismeducationtrust.org.uk with any queries.  

Monthly AET Trainer Development Opportunities (TDO) Sessions 

We invite people from all walks of life to come and talk about topics and share their unique perspectives relating autism specifically for you, our national AET trainer network, to support you in this role.   

These take place on the first working Tuesday of every month between 11am – 12.30pm (apart from April and August) and are recorded, the recording accessible via your AET website trainer account.  

The AET trainer development opportunities web page provides full information of all the sessions and includes the Microsoft Teams meeting link and instructions for joining each session.  

Next TDO session – Tuesday 6th May at 11am – 12.30pm – Helen Cooke, Neurodiversity Service Lead – Every Voice Matters (but are we really listening?) 

Helen will share her work in gathering the voice of ‘Triple A’ students (Autistic, Able and Anxious). She will share her findings about gathering the child’s voice, teaching them to identify and name their anxieties, and learning some vital self-advocacy skills to use in school. Helen will use a Year 9 girl as a case study. 

Previous TDO session – March, recording available on trainer accounts 

Luan and S, autistic, gender diverse young people, alongside Lee, Youth Advocacy and Engagement Manager, shared their lived-in experiences of gender, autism, and education, and provided important information to help you support autistic young people with their gender identity empathetically and effectively. 

World Autism Acceptance Month (WAAM) April 2025 

All the resources are available for you to use on the resources page of your AET website account. Scroll down to the bottom of the resources page to the ‘More Information’ section.  

The registration page for all is also live.  Please do share this link widely.  

AET Resources Update – new and updated resources to be aware of: 

Early Years and Schools Making Sense of Autism and Good Autism Practice training modules are being reviewed based on your feedback.  The refreshed versions will be made available in the summer term and you can find more information about the updates at this link 

Anxious Non-Attenders training module - this new training module will be available in the summer term. You can find more information about it at this link. 

Developing Inclusive Leadership for Neurodivergent Students training module – the links to the videos within this training have been updated so please do download a fresh copy.  

If you have feedback on the AET materials, that you would like to share with the content team, please complete the form at this link.  

NAS Inclusion Award 

The NAS Inclusion Award is tailored to mainstream education settings and is based on the AET Standards and Competency Frameworks. If you would like to learn more about this award, please look at the information at this link.  You will also find information about an interesting free online event that you, as our AET Partners, are invited to attend.  

Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS)  

 As PINS moves into its next phase, we are continuing to offer the fortnightly meetings for Partners from April 2025. A calendar invitation will follow soon for those on our current PINS distribution list and please do let us know if you would like to be added. These meetings provide a space for Partners to share experiences and ask advice of one another.  

Please email lisa.downs@autismeducationtrust.org.uk with any queries regarding this. 

Quality Assurance Pilot  

As discussed at the lead trainer Spring Term network meetings, the DRAFT AET Quality Assurance Toolkit has been added to Lead and Lead Trainer Induction & Guidance (available to lead trainers).  Please trial this approach as part of your QA processes, we look forward to your feedback. 

AET Work-Based CPD Programme 

Lead trainers can find information about the AET Work-Based CPD Programme in Marketing Guidance & The WB-CPD Programme on administrator accounts including how it dovetails with the AET Professional Development Programme. Please do have a look and share the information with your trainers.  

Virtual Administrators Drop in Surgery 

The next virtual administrator’s drop in surgery will take place on Monday 31st March 12.30pm – 1.30pm.  This month, Lyn will discuss the marketing resources available for administrators at the beginning of the session.  Administrators, see the training partner home page on your administrator account for further details including the meeting link.   

As always, please contact partner@autismeducationtrust.org.uk with any queries.  

We hope you're doing well! Here's your monthly roundup with everything you need to know as we wrap up the month.

Monthly AET Trainer Development Opportunities (TDO) Sessions 

We invite different people from all walks of life to come and talk about topics and share their unique perspectives relating autism specifically for you, our national AET trainer network, to support you in this role.  These take place on the first working Tuesday of every month between 11am – 12.30pm (apart from April and August) and are recorded, the recording accessible via your AET website trainer account. The AET trainer development opportunities web page provides full information of all the sessions and includes the Microsoft Teams meeting link and instructions for joining each session.  

Next TDO session – Tuesday 4th March at 11am – 12.30pm – Lee Lester, Luan Morris and S Loosmoore  – Autism and Gender Identity 

Luan and S, autistic, gender diverse young people, alongside Lee, Youth Advocacy and Engagement Manager, share their lived-in experiences of gender, autism, and education, to provide important information to help you support autistic young people with their gender identity empathetically and effectively. 

Previous TDO session – February’s session 

Emma Sharrock from Core Speech delivered an excellent session on Gestalt Language Processing. Emma shared the language development stages and discussed the differences between analytic and gestalt language development with top tips and materials to support children. The recording, handouts and associated resources are now available on your AET website account. Please do add comments and ideas to the active discussion thread to share across the national trainer network.  

World Autism Acceptance Month April 2025 

The registration page for the new and updated World Autism Acceptance Month 2025 materials is now live.  Please do share this link widely.  

AET Resources Update – new and updated resources to be aware of: 

Schools and Early Years phase Making Sense of Autism and Good Autism Practice – we are currently creating shortened versions with updated videos which should be available in the summer term. 

Anxious Non-Attenders training module - this new training module should be available in the summer term. 

A Practitioners Guide to Understanding Behaviour and Expressions of Overwhelm. This new guide is being launched with lead trainers at the Spring Term network meetings taking place in February and March and is available for you to use freely as part of your work. You can find it on your AET website account in Additional Free Resources for Trainers. 

Why Words Matter - Terminology Guide, co-produced with the Autistic Young Experts, has now been launched on our website and is available on your AET website accounts. 

Autism Design Principles for Schools. This practical guide to support schools in creating more inclusive learning environments has been added to Free Additional Resources on your trainer account. Please do use freely. 

If you have feedback on the AET materials, that you would like to share with the content team, please complete the form at this link.   

Feedback on the organisation of the licensed materials on your AET website account 

We have tweaked the layout of the materials in the Early Years, Schools and Post 16 Professional Development Programme tiles on the Resources page of your AET website account to make it easier to navigate and find materials. We would appreciate your feedback on this so that we can make sure it works for you. Please complete the form to let us know, there are only 4 questions!  

Spring Term Lead Trainer Regional Network Meetings (February and March) 

Dr Sarah Broadhurst is attending this round of lead trainer regional network meetings to discuss the AET’s new governance arrangements following the previous communications sent to you regarding this.   Please be assured that everything continues as usual for you as our AET Partners.  We look forward to seeing lead trainers or a nominated colleague at the meetings. 

Quality Assurance Pilot  

The DRAFT AET Quality Assurance Toolkit has been added to Lead and Lead Trainer Induction & Guidance (available to lead trainers).  This is being discussed at the lead trainer Spring term network meetings.  We are asking all partners to trial this as part of their peer review quality assurance processes. We look forward to feedback following trainers piloting these. 

AET Work-Based CPD Programme 

Lead trainers can find information about the AET Work-Based CPD Programme in Marketing Guidance & The WB-CPD Programme on administrator accounts including how it dovetails with the AET Professional Development Programme. Please do have a look and share the information with your trainers.  

Virtual Administrators Drop in Surgery 

The next virtual administrator’s drop in surgery will take place on Monday 31st March 12.30pm – 1.30pm.  Administrators, see the training partner home page on your administrator account for further details including the meeting link.   

As always, please contact partner@autismeducationtrust.org.uk with any queries.