Zurich and the Z Zurich Foundation launch collaboration with Ambitious about Autism to transform the lives of thousands of young people

Insurer Zurich, in collaboration with the Z Zurich Foundation, has launched a three-year collaboration with leading charity Ambitious about Autism (AaA), to help develop a programme to change thousands of young lives.

A grant from the Z Zurich Foundation will help Ambitious about Autism develop a national programme to support the mental wellbeing of autistic pupils in mainstream secondary schools. The programme aims to reach thousands of autistic young people in the UK and will also provide support and guidance to thousands of parents and caregivers to help them proactively care for their mental wellbeing.

The new programme, “Autistic and OK”, will pioneer ground-breaking autism acceptance toolkits for secondary schools to provide resources for autistic pupils, non-autistic peers and teachers. The toolkit will empower autistic young people with the knowledge and self-awareness to proactively look after their own mental wellbeing before reaching crisis point.

The grant will enable the charity to provide toolkits for up to 600 secondary schools, with the eventual aim of providing them to all schools in the UK.

Ambitious about Autism will also train at least half of UK-based Zurich staff in understanding autism, with the aim of training 100% of Zurich UK staff by the end of the three-year period.

Why is support needed now?

Last year, a government review identified a “vicious cycle” of late intervention and an inefficient allocation of the resources needed to help those with special educational needs in schools¹.

For autistic pupils, this leads to disproportionately high school exclusions, as well as increased absenteeism, according to AaA.

More than 60,000 pupils in state secondary schools currently receive support for autism as their primary need, although the true number of autistic students is likely to be higher. In response to the government’s review, Ambitious about Autism has called for greater prioritisation of mental health and wellbeing in schools.

Gary Shaughnessy, Chair of the Z Zurich Foundation said:

“Every young person deserves the best possible chance of living a healthy life at full potential. Unfortunately, all too often the needs of autistic young people can go unmet. We know that the right support early in an autistic young person’s life can make all the difference to their quality of life as a whole, in the short and longer run. This funding will help the AaA bridge critical gaps embedding the programme in UK schools and empowering autistic young people to take control of their own mental wellbeing through early intervention and prevention. Moreover, it aims to reduce stigma about autism involving teachers, carers and all peers in the school environment.”

Jolanta Lasota, Chief Executive of Ambitious about Autism, said:

“We are hugely excited to be working with Zurich and the Z Zurich Foundation. Our programme is built on the premise that to support mental wellbeing in autistic young people we need to change the environment, not the individual. By embedding our programme in schools and working with families and the wider school community, we will build an ecosystem of support to ensure autistic young people will be understood, respected, and able to thrive into adulthood.”

Johnny Timpson OBE, Supervisory Board Member of the Group for Autism, Insurance, Investment and Neurodiversity (GAIN) said:

"On behalf of GAIN I welcome and applaud Zurich’s and Z Zurich Foundation’s long-term commitment to improving autism acceptance and inclusion. Alongside working with GAIN to make a lasting change to the workforce of today, this project will enable future generations to open new doors as they grow, develop, and explore the world of work. Whilst one in seven in the UK are neurodivergent, lack of neurodiversity awareness, support and reasonable adjustment in schools and the workplace is a barrier to many realising their full potential. This will enable them to bring their whole selves to the classroom, job and career".

Rt Hon Sir Robert Buckland, MP for Swindon South, said:

“I am delighted to hear this news, following my recent work on autism with Zurich and the insurance industry. I am looking forward to seeing the results of this welcome initiative.”

Notes to editors

• An estimated one in 100 people are autistic and there are around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK².
• A recent study of seven million young people found that around one in 57 children aged 2 to 21 in England is autistic³.
• Only 29% of autistic people are in full or part-time employment, compared with 53.5% of disabled people and 81.6% of non-disabled people⁴.
• In 2021, the median pay for autistic people was 33% less than non-disabled employees without a long-lasting health condition. Disabled employees who identified autism as their main condition had a wider pay gap than those with other types of disability⁵.
• In a survey carried out by Ambitious about Autism of over 500 autistic young people and their parents and carers, 71% of those who were unemployed said they would like to be in work, but less than a third said they were confident they would be able to find work within the next year⁶.
• The social cost of autism is estimated at £32 billion a year⁷.

¹ Summary of the SEND review: right support, right place, right time - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
² The NHS Information Centre for health and social care. Autism Spectrum Disorders in adults living in households throughout England. Report from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Published 2007
³ Roman-Urrestarazu A, van Kessel R, Allison C, Matthews FE, Brayne C, Baron-Cohen S. (2021). Association of Race/Ethnicity and Social Disadvantage with Autism Prevalence in 7 Million School Children in England. JAMA Pediatrics. Published 2021 (This figure estimates the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the total English state school population using data from the Spring School Census 2017. It replaces the 1 in 100 figure which estimated the prevalence of autism spectrum conditions in adults from the 2007 adult psychiatric morbidity survey.)
⁴ Office for National Statistics. Outcomes for Disabled People in the UK –2021. Published February 2022/ next update February 2023.
⁵ Office for National Statistics. Disability pay gaps in the UK: 2021. Published April 2022/ next update April 2023
⁶ Survey by Ambitious about Autism of over 500 autistic young people and their parents and carers undertaken in 2021.
⁷ LSE. The Autism Dividend: Reaping the Rewards of Better Investment.