Taking some time for reflection

Mary Hartshorne, SCF Professional Adviser, reflects on the first four years of Sheila Coates Foundation’s funding.

I left my post as professional adviser at Sheila Coates Foundation last month, shortly after we closed our largest-ever funding round. I’ve been on the SCF journey from the beginning of our grant-making - and it’s been an exciting ride!

Since our first grant round in 2020 we have given over £2 million to approximately 450 secondary schools and colleges in every region of England, helping nearly 19,000 autistic young people.

All of the schools and colleges we fund tell us their award makes a difference. In just 6 months. In fact, over 96% report a substantial impact. Our own impact data supports this.

Now feels like a good opportunity to pause and reflect on our work.

A huge need

Probably the biggest thing that hits me every time we launch a funding round is the sheer need in secondary schools and colleges. In every round, nearly half of applications are for sensory rooms or safe spaces. Provision we know is important to autistic young people. Provision that makes a difference. Provision that you’d think should be standard in every school and college by now.

Breathing space

And possibly the things I am most likely to take away with me are the stories from schools. Secondary schools and colleges are busy places. I’ve worked in many, I know how frantic it can be. SCF funding allows schools to take a step back, it gives them some breathing space. It’s always special to read about the reflection and learning that our funding allows.

A chance to stop and observe

We funded a 10 week climbing course for autistic students in one school. Observing how students tackled the climbing wall helped staff to gain completely new insights:

"I learnt a lot about one student's processing speed by watching him stand and wait at the wall for an extraordinary length of time before beginning to climb. I realised that because of this long wait time, staff often intervene too quickly with him."

A chance to analyse

In another school, autistic young people used decibel meters to gauge the noisiness of different parts of their school. They shared their findings with SLT, and as a result there are plans to carpet wooden floors, and provide Loop and Flare ear plugs in some of the noisier classrooms. Empowering for students but also great for staff too:

"Before, we understood noise was a difficulty for many students with autism but didn’t know how to tackle this."

A chance to really involve autistic students

We want to fund activities which do more than merely consult with autistic students, we look for active involvement - but this takes time. In one college students wanted their SEN department to feel more welcoming and we funded them to work with local art students to design and create a mural making a new, colourful entrance:

"The impact that these murals have had on our ASD population has been profound. All of our students love coming up to our Inclusion department and find it a safe environment in which to work in."

Numbers are great, but stories from schools can be more impactful. Here’s to more SCF story-telling!