More than 45 autism professionals have completed two specialist TEACCH® training courses hosted at Prior’s Court this February, strengthening expertise in Structured Teaching across the UK.

The courses, delivered on-site at Prior’s Court, brought together our staff members, external autism professionals and a parent of a young person at Prior's Court, committed to developing their knowledge and practice under the guidance of experts from the TEACCH® Autism Program at the University of North Carolina.

The Beyond the Basics: Advanced Applications of TEACCH® Principles and Practices Seminar, which we believe is the only course of its kind in Europe, was followed by the UK's only 5-day hands-on TEACCH® classroom training course led by a Clinical Director and the Director of Training from the TEACCH® Autism Program, University of North Carolina. 

Going Beyond the Basics

From Monday, 9 February to Wednesday, 11 February, 22 participants completed the Beyond the Basics: Advanced Applications of TEACCH® Principles and Practices Seminar.

The three-day seminar explores advanced applications of Structured TEACCHing strategies with a range of interactive sessions, including presentations, case studies, discussions, and group assignments. 

The participants included 19 members of Prior's Court staff. Experts from the TEACCH® Autism Program at the University of North Carolina led the course, with support from Prior's Court's own group of highly-trained TEACCH professionals.

This was the first time Prior’s Court has hosted the seminar since 2019, reflecting a renewed commitment to expanding high-quality professional development opportunities both for Prior's Court staff and the wider autism sector.

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5-day hands-on TEACCH® classroom training

From Monday, 16 February to Friday, 20 February, a further 22 professionals took part in the UK’s only five-day hands-on TEACCH® classroom training course led by a Clinical Director and the Director of Training from the TEACCH® Autism Program at the University of North Carolina, providing participants with direct access to internationally recognised expertise.

The intensive course combined theory with practical classroom application.

Alongside the course leaders from the TEACCH® Autism Program, around 40% of the UK’s own TEACCH® Certified Advanced Consultants led and shaped the content of this course. Four of the autistic young people with learning disabilities and complex needs at Prior's Court were assisting as Co-Trainers.  

The cohort on this course included 12 Prior's Court staff members and a parent of one of the young people we support, in addition to external delegates from schools across the UK.

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A commitment to autism training

TEACCH® is an evidence-based approach to learning, world-renowned for its effectiveness in supporting autistic people.  It is at the very heart of our approach and we have strong links with the University of North Carolina where TEACCH® originated. The TEACCH® programme aims to enable autistic people to function as meaningfully and as independently as possible in the community.

Currently at Prior's Court:

• more than 130 staff have completed the 3-day Structured Teaching course
• more than 65 staff members have completed the 5-Day hands-on TEACCH® classroom training course
• close to 30 staff members have completed the Beyond the Basics: Advanced Applications of TEACCH Principles and Practices course
• and one staff member is a TEACCH Certified Advanced Consultant with pathways open for staff members to advance to TEACCH Certified Practitioner and TEACCH Certified Advanced Consultant level.

Ruth Over, our Head of Autism Practice and Development, said: "Prior’s Court is committed to sharing opportunities for staff members, families of young people at Prior’s Court and autism professionals to access expert training to further their own knowledge and confidence. By hosting specialist courses of this calibre, we're striving to contribute to the wider autism community and promote best practice across the sector, for the betterment of autistic young people and their families.

"A huge congratulations to all of the delegates who successfully completed these two courses - their dedication to learning and improving their practice is inspiring."

Future TEACCH courses

Prior’s Court will be holding more TEACCH courses over the coming year. 

A three-day Structured Teaching course in August is currently open for applications, with additional dates for further courses to be confirmed in due course. 

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