Bracknell Forest has a population of 128,351:1
- 20% of residents are aged between 0 to 15
- 65% are aged between 16 to 64
- 16% are over the age of 65
According to the Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information (PANSI),2 757 people aged 18 to 64 are predicted to be autistic. This represents 1% of this age group. This is comparative to other local authorities’ populations in East Berkshire (the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and Slough).
It is predicted that this will increase to 759 by 2030 but is predicted to decrease by 2040 to 751. Whilst rates of prevalence will increase in the 18 to 25 and 25 to 34 age groups, an aging population means that there will be fewer autistic people in the age groups 35 to 64.
In people over the age of 65, it is predicted that 0.95% of the population are autistic. Similar figures are predicated for the other East Berkshire authorities.3 The prediction is that the prevalence will increase from 191 in 2025 to 231 by 2030, and to 274 by 2040.
Health data from the Primary Care Networks (PCNs)
General Practitioners (GPs) record patient details on a data base called Connected Care, including patients that are diagnosed as autistic
In Bracknell Forest less than 6% of people registered with their GP who are diagnosed as autistic also have a learning disability. This is lower than some suggestions that 30% to 40% of autistic people over 25 may also have a learning disability. In under 19s this occurrence is less at 12%.4
Below is the data captured from GP records across the Primary Care Network (PCNs) which identifies individual patients who have a coding of autistic spectrum condition (ASC).
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Population Report for Bracknell Forest, Berkshire Observatory
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Learning disability and autism, Autistica
| Category | Bracknell and district PCN | Health triangle PCN | Braccan/Forest PCN | Bracknell Forest total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of autistic patients | 758 | 986 | 778 | 2,522 |
| Single diagnosis ASC | 724 | 908 | 733 | 2,365 |
| ASC and LD | 34 | 78 | 45 | 157 |
| Under 18s | 415 (54.7%) | 494 (50.1%) | 383 (49.25) | 1,292 (51.2%) |
| Over 18s | 3,43 (45.5%) | 4,92 (49.8%) | 3,99 (51.2%) | 1,234 (48.9%) |
2,545 autistic people of all ages are recorded on Connected Care across all the autistic diagnosis options. The average age is 18.9 years. 8.5% of the cohort are members of the Black and global majority - this is below the ethnic representation of the total Bracknell Forest population.
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BHFT) offer a range of services for children, young people and adults. This includes autism assessment services for children and young people and for adults, but also a wide range of services according to individual needs. BHFT have seen an increased demand for services. Berkshire wide referrals for autism assessments in 2024 to 2025 were 68% higher than referrals in 2019 to 2020. Referrals for autism and attention deficit disorder (ADHD) increased by 215% from 2020 to 2021 to 2023 to 2024.
The NHS Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) is a system utilised to understand performance from GPs in the NHS. Results indicate that autistic people are more likely to experience a range of co-occurring physical and mental health conditions.
The QOF data and related clinical insights suggest that the following conditions are particularly prevalent among autistic people:
- 7.3% have asthma
- 18.6% have depression
- 6% have a learning disability
- 7.9% are obese
The average chronic condition count is 1.7, this means each autistic person has 1 to 2 other health conditions. Whilst medications and GP activity is similar across groups of people aged 5+ with a coding of Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) and the general population, the mental health activity in those with ASC coding is 6.5 times as high as those without ASC coding.
Accident and Emergency (A&E) activity is 1.5 times higher in the autistic cohort, and the prevalence of both 999 and 111 calls are almost twice as high from autistic people. According to data from Connected Care, autistic people are 6 and a half times more likely to present at primary care (GP, A&E, community health, and so on) with a mental health need compared to the non-autistic population. This data suggests that autistic people in Bracknell Forest have poorer mental health and use emergency services more than people who are not autistic.1
According to Connected Care, as of January 2025, a total of 8,775 children and young people aged 0 to 25, across the Frimley ICS, have a primary care coding of autism. Of these, 1,568 (17.9%) live in Bracknell Forest.
Below is a chart comparing numbers of children with a coding of ASC captured on Connected Care across different localities within the Frimley ICS. It shows:
- Bracknell Forest has the second lowest prevalence, with 17.9%, of 0 to 25-year-olds who are autistic across the Frimley ICS
- Slough have the lowest number recorded with 11.7%
- Northeast Hampshire and Farnham have the highest recorded prevalence of autistic people with 31.4%
The Bracknell Forest Dynamic Support Register (DSR) is a database that is held by the Learning Disability and Autism Programme within Frimley ICB.
The DSR is used to identify autistic people or people with a learning disability who are at risk of admission to hospital, or going into care, due to their mental health or behaviours that challenge.
The aim is to get people the right support at the right time, to make sure that the right services are involved to improve their mental health and/or reduce behaviours that challenge and reduce their risk of admission into mental health hospital.
Once people are identified and added to the DSR, they are rated as one of the following:
- green (low risk of admission)
- amber (moderate risk of admission)
- red (high risk of admission)
- blue (already an inpatient)
People on the DSR are reviewed monthly and discussed with local mental health providers and social care partners to make sure of effective multi-agency support to reduce the risk of someone being admitted, or to make sure of timely and effective discharge.
In Bracknell, 68% (correct as of March 2025) of the 0 to 25 age group on the DSR are single-diagnosis autistic people, for example, without a diagnosed learning disability. Including autistic people with a learning disability, 96% of patients on the 0 to 25 DSR in Bracknell are autistic. This highlights how autistic people are overrepresented in those admitted to, or at risk of admission to, a mental health inpatient setting. Partners are working together to make sure we have collective oversight of all the autistic children, young people and adults that are supported across the services.
Autistic people supported by the council
Many autistic people do not need support from the council in order to live their lives to their full potential. The council does provide support for a number of autistic people who have an eligible need as determined by the Care Act 2014. To be eligible for support adults need a diagnosis (or to be on the pathway) and, for example, they would have needs arising from physical or mental impairment or illness, which means they are unable to achieve 2 or more of the outcomes determined in the Care Act such as maintaining their personal safety or accessing work.
Below is the number of autistic children, young people and adults currently having their social care needs supported by the council (open to council childrens’ or adults social care with a diagnosis where primary need is ASC May 2025).
Out of a total of 599:
- under 5 - 105 (150 under 5s currently awaiting an assessment)
- children and young people (this includes 20 children looked after and 14 care leavers) - 452
- adults primary diagnosis autism - 42
93% of the people the council support are children.
The number of children waiting for an assessment has been acknowledged to be high across all 6 Berkshire local authorities. As of June 2025, the number of children aged between 5 and 18 in Bracknell Forest waiting for an assessment is 682. Many of those waiting for an assessment will not need a referral to social care. There are a further 241 adults waiting for an assessment.
This can place adverse pressure on children, families and schools whilst waiting for an assessment. In response to this, all 6 local authorities, together with Frimley and Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) ICB are working together to implement a Berkshire Neuro Inclusive Early Help Systems Change, with the purpose of identifying neuro divergent children at the earliest opportunity. We want our children’s individual strengths and support needs to be understood better quicker to get the right support more promptly (right help, right time, right place) - based on need and strength, not diagnosis. We are committed to early identification of needs and provision of support that recognises each child’s strengths and needs, without requiring a formal diagnosis It is recognised that each local authority area is different, therefore there will be an individual plan for each local authority which considers the populations of each area.
Education should meet the needs of autistic children and young people whether or not they have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP). An EHCP is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support.
EHCP’s identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs.
Schools or other educational institutions must use their best endeavours to meet that child or young person’s special educational needs. This does not apply to independent or non-maintained schools and nurseries. The Equality Act 2010 duties will, however, still apply. Using ‘best endeavours’ means doing everything they reasonably can.
Below are the number of autistic children who have their educational needs supported by the council (known to our autism outreach team with an autism diagnosis May 2025).
Out of a total of 880:
- primary school children without an EHCP - 238
- primary school children with an EHCP - 208
- secondary school children without an EHCP - 248
- secondary children without an EHCP - 186
As at May 2025, 486 children with a primary diagnosis of autism, but without an EHCP, known to the council Autism Advisory Support Service, were being supported in school using the graduated approach.
The Attachment Research Community (ARC) is a charitable organisation that supports schools to develop best attachment and trauma aware practice. How people respond to trauma often presents as how they would present as autistic. Autism behaviours mirror how trauma often presents in children.2 Virtual Heads have a statutory duty to make sure schools are trauma informed. In Bracknell Forest we are currently developing our own framework to:
- reduce exclusions
- improve attendance
- reduce permanent exclusions
Training is being rolled out across all schools who will do a self-assessment. They will then be evaluated on their level of trauma awareness practice. This programme will be rolled out over 3 years. Trauma informed practice can have an impact on autistic children.
Nationally, for pupils with EHCP’s, ASC is the most common primary type of need, with 34% of pupils having this primary type of need.
Locally, there has been a significant increase in the number of plans for students with ASC as a primary need. In January 2025, they accounted for 48.5% of the plans in Bracknell Forest, this is a 14% increase from the 2024 data. This is therefore the most prevalent primary need in Bracknell Forest.
As of January 2025:
- 984 children and young people aged up to 18 attending maintained schools in Bracknell Forest had an EHCP:
- 372 (38%) had a primary need of autism
- some of these children may live out of borough but attend a Bracknell school
- 2,243 children and young people aged up to 18 attending schools in Bracknell Forest were receiving SEN support:
- 409 (18%) had a primary need of autism
- some of these children may live out of borough but attend a Bracknell school
- 1,654 children and young people (CYP) aged 0 to 25 living in Bracknell Forest* had an EHCP:
- some of these CYP are educated outside of Bracknell Forest, or have finished education, so are not captured in the figures above
- 802 of these CYP (48.5%) had a primary need of autism (this suggests that the most prevalent need of SEN is autism)
Below is a chart demonstrating the year-on-year increase of children with a primary need of autism who have an EHCP.
Specialised support in Bracknell Forest is provided through a local school called Kennel Lane which is for primary and secondary aged children, including a sixth form hub. There are also specialist resourced provisions, and a pupil referral unit (Cranbury College) located in Reading.
Partnership in neurodiversity (PINS) is a national project funded by NHS England and the Department for Education (DfE). The local authority, parent and carers, children and young people and school staff are working together to understand and improve support for neurodivergent children. In 2024 to 2025, 13 mainstream primary schools in Bracknell took part. Recruitment for 2025 to 2026 is now active to help improve the whole school approach to neurodiversity.
To address the growth in demand in 2023, the DfE approved bids for four new special free schools across Berkshire, including a new school in Bracknell Forest which will support up to 100 autistic students aged 5 to 19.
Whilst we have some helpful insights into the data available to us, further improvement is required to make sure we are able to collectively understand the needs of all the autistic children, young people and adults we support across health, social care and education. A refresh of this strategy will be undertaken at the completion of the SEND needs analysis.