Hi, I'm Michelle and I am researching young autistic people's priorities and experiences as they make the transition to post-16 education or training. This research is about the voices of the young people moving on from year 11 (if you would like to view the page for year 11+ participants, please click here ). However, because they are making the transition in 2020, it is important that the research can also explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected this transition. 

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I'm looking for adults who usually work to support young people making the transition to post-16, for example SENCOs and Learning Support Assistants, to discuss their experiences of this work in previous years and compare that to the challenges of this unique year. This research is important because there are few studies which have focused on young autistic people's priorities and experiences during the post-16 transition. Previously, a large number of young autistic people did not continue their education after the age of 16 years, but staying in education or training until the age of 18 has since become mandatory. 

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Taking part would involve an interview which can be carried out online through video call or text-based messages, over the telephone, or at your place of work (depending upon government guidance at the time and following your setting's safety protocols). Neither you, nor your school or setting, would be identified by name in any analysis of data. Any identifying markers, such as specific reference to names of people, would be omitted from the transcript of the interview.