Businesses urged to help support successful neurodiversity training for teachers initiative

Neurodiversity training for school leaders and teachers, an initiative pioneered by RSK Group to support neurodiverse children, has delivered training to over 140 teachers across the UK, with the most recent cohort giving a 4.5/5 overall satisfaction rating.

RSK Group developed the delivery model with training provider evisolve with a focus on empowering teachers and building skills and understanding of neurodiversity.

The programme has now been delivered multiple times, and the team hopes to expand its reach by encouraging more businesses to invest in funding the training in their area, contributing to social value and future talent pipelines.

RSK Group HR Director and project lead Zoe Brunswick said: “We have been overwhelmed by how positively this initiative has been received by participating schools. Seeing the benefit and value it has brought to participants drives me to grow its reach and make it accessible to as many people as possible.

The funding provided by RSK Group to enable participants to join the course has meant that teachers are receiving training that is essential in improving experiences of neurodivergent learners through their school years. Zoe said: “The provision of training on neurodiversity for teachers is limited and therefore funding from businesses, like ours, enables this to be rolled out quicker. The training also helps this to move from a textbook-led approach to provide practical ways to support teachers, informed by parents’ and learners’ lived experiences. Growing the reach of this training will have great benefits. If other businesses invest in this training model, supporting schools and teachers to develop these valuable skills and broaden their understanding of what neurodivergence is and how it can be supported in schools, we will together be championing a new generation of learners to reach their potential.”

The National Autistic Society notes that only 22% of autistic adults are in employment. Reflecting on this, Zoe said that through this model, employers are in a unique position to influence positive change in the education system to improve engagement and participation in the workforce.

“Neurodiverse individuals can bring significant value to a business as employees; they offer unique views on issues and new perspectives on challenges, boosting innovation and creativity across an organisation. We are seeing increasing numbers of neurodivergent learners leave the education system due to their needs not being met, which ultimately reduces the diversity within our future talent pipeline. It is in our power as business leaders to influence change and contribute towards the shaping of positive learner experiences by supporting teachers to develop the valuable skills and confidence needed to enable neurodivergent students to have the space and opportunity to achieve.”

The training content was recently updated to reflect the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform in England. Zoe said that it is important the content remains current in this evolving landscape and attention is given to simplify some of the material to aid wider sharing when teachers go back into their respective schools.

Zoe said: “The training model has been developed such that the only requirement from a business is to fund the course; everything else is delivered as part of that funding commitment. We wanted to make it easy for businesses to get involved with this initiative and be able to put their name to a tried and tested model. In feedback we have received from the first cohort of learners, we are pleased to see that responses indicate a strong return on investment and benefit to educational practice.”