Chamber and committees

Can I ask you about that? Would you say that for architects, for example, ASN needs to be a key principle that is right up there?

Is there perhaps a need to learn from primary schools and to take that learning into secondary schools? Am I getting that right?

Should it be a minimum requirement for all schools to have similar spaces that are accessible throughout the school day?

I want to pick up on that point, Dr Binnie. You are talking about a very small number of parents and their perception of what is going on. However, going back to the question that Pam Duncan-Glancy started out with in this evidence session, there seems to be quite a large number of parents who feel that everything is a fight, all the way through.

Earlier, Kerry Drinnan touched on the framework tool and the fact that, when you spoke to parents about it, they had a kind of understanding and were really keen to know more. Is there a need for things such as the framework tool and perhaps for access to—goodness, what is it called? The organisation was here earlier. I am losing track. It was My Rights, My Say. Is there a need for those things to be discussed proactively as soon as an additional support need is recognised? That would pull together the parents and the young person and make them feel that they had access to the information that they needed, which would possibly help the teachers as well. Would that be helpful?

I want to ask about autism specifically. The number of tribunal applications relating to autistic young people and children has been rising rapidly—134 of 202 cases, which is more than 66 per cent, are of that type. We have already heard some mention of masking, sensory issues and anxiety. Are there particular challenges for autistic children? Do we need to have strategies and supports in place for that particular group, from which cases seem to come to tribunal often? Obviously, a part-time timetable is not the solution.

That is a really interesting point.

What we have heard from the witnesses has been helpful. I have a question about local authorities. There has been a bit of talk about when the job has been done well—when local authorities are putting wellbeing at the centre and listening and responding to the views of children and young people, their parents and carers. Are there examples of where that has been done well—probably in the early stages? Are there key things in common in different cases?

What could we do in our secondary school estate to create the kind of safe, small workspaces that you said exist in primary schools, which could improve things for young people?

I am going to ask about buildings rather than people. Have new school buildings been designed with pupils with sensory needs in mind? How do local authorities adapt their existing schools to ensure that young people can access the appropriate support?

On the point about existing schools, perhaps Dr Binnie could say a bit more about things like lighting and creating spaces.