A SCHOOL dedicated to nurturing children who need additional support has been recognised for its work with autistic pupils.

Green Lane Community Special School, located on Woolston Learning Village, has been awarded Advanced Autism Accreditation by The National Autistic Society (NAS).

This is the UK’s leading charity for people on the autism spectrum and their families.

The award was given in recognition of the school’s good autism practice and the significant impact it has on improving the quality of life of its young people.

Julie Naylor, from Green Lane School said: "We are immensely proud on being awarded Advanced Accreditation by the NAS.

"The assessment report confirms that Green Lane offers a very high level of consistency and quality in the support of autistic young people."

Autism Accreditation is an autism-specific quality assurance programme.

It was set up in 1992 to improve the support available to autistic people in organisations throughout the UK and across the world.

Stephen Dedridge, head of Autism Accreditation (south) added: "Green Lane School should be exceptionally proud of their achievement.

"The National Autistic Society’s Autism Accreditation programme was launched more than 20 years ago and sets extremely high standards, which the school has worked incredibly hard to meet.

"Being autistic means you feel, hear and see things in a different, often more intense, way to others and may struggle in certain social situations.

"More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and it will affect each one of them slightly differently – some go onto successful careers while others need intensive support to go about their daily lives.

"Autism Accreditation highlights good autism practice and we are very pleased to celebrate Green Lane School’s achievement.

"It is a great thing in itself and, we believe, will inspire other organisations and services to improve the way they support autistic people."