We develop and apply a range of creative methods including鈥, which are increasingly being used in practice to support the transitions of autistic and other children and young people.
ACoRNS is co-directed by鈥Professor Sarah Parsons鈥(Education) and鈥Professor Hanna Kovshoff鈥(Psychology), and was co-founded in 2016 with鈥鈥痠n Eastleigh and鈥鈥痠n Hampshire. Our model has also been adopted by colleagues at the University of Sussex who launched鈥 in October 2020.
Our participatory approach to research means that impact is baked into the ACoRNS model with demonstrable societal outcomes. For example, the impact of our education-focused work with schools has been recognised in two 鈥極utstanding鈥 Ofsted reports for (PDF, 152KB) and鈥 (PDF, 274KB).
ACoRNS aligns with major 黑料社 strategic objectives through conducting interdisciplinary research and knowledge exchange, and working with local schools and wider communities as part of the University鈥檚 commitment to being a鈥Civic University. A great example of the power of working closely with local partners comes from Kathryn Ivil, the Nursery Manager at ACoRNS founding partner Aviary Nursery who says:
鈥淭he success and powerful impact of being part of ACoRNS has given us an aspiration as a team to continue to share our new knowledge with a wider audience in our local community.鈥
We have won prestigious external funding for our research from the鈥,鈥, Epilepsy Research UK, and the . We have also secured funding from the following:
鈥 University鈥檚 ESRC Impact Acceleration Account
鈥 ESRC Festival of Social Science
鈥 South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP) for fully funded Doctoral studentships
鈥 Black Futures Postgraduate Research Scholarships
鈥 Higher Education Innovation Fund
鈥 Public Engagement with Research Unit at Southampton
鈥 Southampton鈥檚 Enterprise Development Fund
鈥 Centre for Higher Education Practice (CHEP)
In 2024, ACoRNS were the proud recipients of the for making an outstanding contribution to the 鈥Triple Helix鈥, which emphasises the links between education, research and knowledge exchange, and enterprise.