Inclusive environments toolkit
This toolkit provides practical guidance for making indoor environments more inclusive and accessible for autistic and neurodivergent young people, covering sensory audits, preparation tips, and event-day strategies to reduce stress, support communication, and promote comfort and participation.
Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision
This document sets out Greater Manchester’s expectations for Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP) in schools, outlining consistent best-practice strategies across partnerships, ethos, environment, curriculum, assessment, communication, resources, staff training, and transitions, while also signposting when and how to provide additional SEN support beyond what should already be in place. This is a new document that […]
Collaborative problem solving
This tool provides a trauma-informed, collaborative problem-solving approach (NEST: Nurture, Empathise, Share context, Teamwork) to help young people in distress by reducing stress, supporting recovery after meltdowns, and working together on solutions that address underlying needs rather than using punishment or rewards.
Claire Neilson’s Barriers to Education Checklist (autism specific)
This tool is a checklist designed to help professionals identify and address barriers to education for autistic pupils experiencing extended non-attendance, enabling tailored action plans and support strategies.
Early Identification of Needs Tool
This tool is a structured, collaborative questionnaire and planning resource that helps schools, families, and young people identify early barriers to attendance (academic, social, emotional, family, and wellbeing factors) and develop personalised support plans with regular reviews to improve engagement and reduce emotionally based school non-attendance.
Other highly recommended resources or learning for young people
Communication Ladder Gauge current communication level and adjust approach (e.g. open questions, yes/no, selecting images) This graded questioning diagram is great for getting to know how comfortable a young person is with different levels of communication. You can try moving down the sequence over time as they get more comfortable, but make sure to go […]
Creative/indirect approaches for young people
Natural conversation moments
Young Person’s Neuroprofiling Tool
The Neuroprofiling tool is an online tool created by neurodivergent young people and adults for young people (aged 10+) who are exploring neurodivergence. The tool is a set of statements about a range of internal experiences. Young people can fill it out by selecting statements that fit with their experiences and are important to them. […]
The Backpack Tool
‘The Backpack’ is a strengths-based reflective tool designed to support conversations with children and young people who may be finding school attendance, relationships, or life in general a bit difficult. Inspired by the idea that we all carry different things with us (some helpful, some heavy), this visual resource invites young people to explore their […]
Sensory Audit Tool
Some young people may find the school environment overwhelming due to sensory differences and sensitivities, which can increase anxiety. This tool is designed to help school staff identify and reduce common sensory triggers across the school setting. The audit highlights key sensory areas to review, such as sound, light, smell, and layout, in a variety […]