Rapid Impact Fund

Two rounds will open on 21 April 2026, offering £5,000 awards to mainstream secondary schools and colleges across England to support autistic students.

These small grants help autistic students thrive by supporting quick, practical solutions. Support for autistic young people in mainstream education is highly variable, and timely interventions can make a real difference.

Between 2021 and 2025, ten Rapid Impact Fund rounds have helped over 26,000 autistic students in more than 600 schools and colleges. After funding, 98% of schools reported positive impact within just five months. Read more here.

Funding rounds

Rapid Impact Fund 11 - summer 2026: building autism-inclusive cultures

This round will fund creative, innovative projects that support autistic students and strengthen inclusive school or college culture. Research shows that a positive school or college culture is crucial to the success of young people with SEND, including autism.

We welcome proposals that link projects to support individuals or groups of autistic students with lasting change across a department or the entire school/college. Applications are open to all staff including:

  • Leadership team members
  • SENCos
  • Subject leads
  • Teachers and teaching assistants

Projects should aim for sustainable, meaningful change, and ensure autistic students’ voices are central to decision-making. 

Rapid Impact Fund 12: autumn 2026 - tackling or preventing non-attendance

This round addresses the growing issue of autistic students missing school. Since 2019, the number of “severely absent” autistic students has more than doubled. In 2023/24, 63,348 autistic students were persistent absentees—nearly a third of all autistic students in England.

We are looking for creative, targeted projects to improve attendance and engagement of autistic students. Projects should:

  • Focus on individuals or groups at risk of non-attendance
  • Involve students, parents and carers in planning and delivery
  • Encourage collaboration across the school or college to support sustained attendance

How to apply

We know schools and colleges are busy, so we’ve designed a straightforward application process. When the round opens for applications:

  1. Tell us your idea. Complete a quick and simple application form which includes several short-answer questions.
  2. If successful:
  • Sign our terms and conditions document
  • Send us your bank details.

More information on the application process is on this page.

Important notes

  • We do not fund provision that should be ordinarily available to students with SEND.
  • In 2026 we will not fund projects that seek to develop or equip indoor safe or sensory spaces. We are currently working with schools/colleges and our academic partner, the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER) at the University of Birmingham, to understand how safe/sensory spaces impact outcomes. Funding for similar activities is temporarily on hold until findings are shared.

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See our Funding FAQs for further information.