To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) any training programmes available to Principals and teachers in regards to supporting pupils who are neurodiverse; and (ii) whether this training is mandatory.

(i) The Education Authority (EA) and Middletown Centre for Autism (MCA) currently offer a range of training to all teachers and the educational workforce in relation to Autism and neurodiverse pupils.

The EA through its Programme of Professional Development Opportunities offers professional development opportunities to school staff which includes courses to support neurodiverse pupils.

MCA provides a range of accessible full-day, part-day and online training sessions for all school teams where the focus of the training is the support of autistic pupils in school settings and the development of neuroaffirming school culture.

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes are aligned with the Northern Ireland Curriculum and designed to prepare future teachers for its delivery. All ITE programmes include mandatory and optional Special Educational Needs modules ensuring new teachers achieve the professional competences set out by the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI).

(ii) training programmes offered by the EA and MCA to support neurodiverse pupils is not mandatory.