(England) One in six autistic students out of school this whole past year

Feb 8, 2026, The i Paper: My autistic child missed seven years of secondary school – he’s been failed 

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/autistic-child-missed-seven-years-secondary-school-4219342

One in six autistic pupils has not been to school at all since the start of this academic year. Their parents aren’t to blame

“Sam’s transition to secondary school was horrific. At home we could see his mental health was deteriorating, his anxiety and stress increasing as he was heading to school. He no longer wanted to be here, let alone go to school.”

For Sarah Greaves, Sam’s mother, the priority became her son’s wellbeing, not his education. Diagnosed autistic when he was eight, after the safety of primary school, he couldn’t cope with the stress of this huge new environment.

“At secondary school he hated lunchtime – the smells, the noise, the people – it was sensory overload, and he became stressed out and anxious. He started showing physical signs of anxiety, like headaches and stomach aches. Soon he was having panic attacks. I’d wait in the car park after dropping him off at school because we’d never know if he was going to manage to get through a lesson – or go into school at all. At home he talked about harming himself, about not wanting to live anymore. We couldn’t keep putting him through it.”

Sam was eventually diagnosed with autistic burnout, and aged 11, stopped going to school.

Sam’s experience is not unusual.

When a recent survey found that one in six autistic pupils have not been to school at all since the start of this academic year, this came as no surprise to parents of autistic children.

And nearly half (45 per cent) of the parents and children who responded to the UK-wide survey by Ambitious About Autism said they felt “blamed” by the government for the absences.

Yet for parents like Greaves, it’s a far more complex issue. Of the children who missed school, 62 per cent said it was due to mental health issues.

Shermeena Rabbi is a speech and language therapist who runs Unlocking Language, a clinic that provides autism assessments alongside therapy to support autistic children’s communication. Her clients have included a number of autistic children whose anxiety makes school attendance extremely difficult. . . .

Nearly one in five pupils were recorded as persistently absent according to government statistics for the academic year 2023/24. Many of these children experience emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), which prevents them attending school for reasons connected with their neurodiversity and mental health difficulties, such as anxiety and depression. Sometimes viewed as lazy truants, or their parents too ‘soft’ to make them go to school, these children want to learn, but because their mainstream schools cannot meet their needs, they are left isolated and missing out on months, or even years, of education while their wellbeing suffers.

As the Government is due to publish long-awaited plans to reform the SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) system, this is expected to include a focus on improving mainstream schools, where more than 70 per cent of autistic pupils receive their education. . . .

Exclusions of autistic pupils have rocketed in the past few years, according to Ambitious About Autism research. The Department of Education figures reveal that in the 2023/2024 academic year, 16.46 per cent of autistic pupils were suspended and 0.16 per cent were permanently excluded, whereas overall 11.31 per cent of pupils were suspended and 0.13 per cent were permanently excluded. . . .

Of course, not all autistic children are a danger to others, but says Sinclair, this kind of situation can have consequences. “These children are vulnerable, have no control and are continually sent into this place that is really bad for them. And so, naturally, they’re going to lash out, particularly if they lack the communication skills to express how they’re feeling.”

At present, too many mainstream schools are ill-equipped to fully cope with autistic children alongside the needs of neurotypical ones. Rabbi, whose speech therapists at her clinic visit anxious children at home, urges the government to train teachers in trauma-informed therapy. “Creating an environment of safety and trust is vital if autistic children are to be taught in mainstream schools without feeling overwhelmed with anxiety,” she says.

There certainly needs to be a wider understanding in society of what autistic children and their parents are up against. Greaves says: “Some parents are being taken to court over their child’s absence from school – something that’s completely out of their control.” . . .