Supporting mainstream school staff in England to meet the needs and address educational inequalities in autistic girls

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Ward, M. & Powell, L. (2025). Supporting mainstream school staff in England to meet the needs and address educational inequalities in autistic girls. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2025.2560002

Publication date: 25 Sep 2025 Added to AutiHub: 9 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)
  1. Martha Ward
  2. Lauren Powell *

Abstract

Autistic girls often experience educational inequalities and inadequate support in schools that lead to poor educational, health and wellbeing outcomes. In response, education policy requires mainstream schools to adopt inclusive practices for children and young people (CYP) with special educational needs and disabilities, including autistic CYP, where possible. However, teachers report complex barriers to inclusive practice provision, including a lack of training and resources, mental health deterioration among CYP post-pandemic and a lack of how to support autistic girls to engage in mainstream education. This study adopted a neurodiversity approach to explore challenges that 17 mainstream school staff faced and provides recommendations for inclusive practices for autistic girls in mainstream schools. Three themes and one subtheme were developed through thematic analysis of interview and group interview data: (1) Ineffective and inconsistent training; (2) Time as a barrier (subtheme: Pastoral support demands and mental exhaustion); (3) Future training recommendations. Future research should explore how to tailor training to staff needs and the specific needs of ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ autistic girls. Recommendations will have practical significance in advancing understanding of action that must be taken in schools and by policymakers to achieve inclusive practices for autistic girls in mainstream education settings.

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Cited references
64
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
4 / 64 (6.2%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
4 / 144 (2.8%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 4 / 31 (12.9%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 3 / 140 (2.1%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
31 / 144 (21.5%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 28 / 140 (20.0%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
27 / 31 (87.1%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 27 / 144 (18.8%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 25 / 28 (89.3%).
1 cited bibliography entry could not be fully enriched from DOI metadata.
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