We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.
The reoffending rate has remained broadly static at around 29% since 2010. Reoffending is costing society approximately £18bn per year and almost half of all prisoners reoffend within 12 months of release.
The Prisons Strategy White Paper was published in December 2021. As part of the paper, MOJ and HMPPS committed to:Â
"A new Prisoner Education Service, to make sure offenders can improve their basic literacy and numeracy, as well as acquire further vocational qualifications, like construction and computing, making them more employable when they leave prison."
To do this, we will give Governors the tools they need to deliver high-quality learning, training and skills, and we will hold prisons to account for the job opportunities and outcomes they achieve for prisoners.
We also know that people with neurodiversity needs in prison can be particularly vulnerable due to their social and communication difficulties, putting them at risk of not coping in a prison setting, being bullied, exploited or manipulated by fellow prisoners and impacting upon their ability to effectively engage with rehabilitation interventions. For some people with neurodivergence, this can also mean difficulties in maintaining employment or building relationships with others.
In her 2016 review of prison education, Dame Sally Coates reported  that nearly one third of prisoners self-identified on initial assessment as having a learning difficulty and/or disability. Since the Dame Sally Coates review, an HMIP report suggests that it would be reasonable to assume that at least 50% of prisoners have some form of neurodivergence .
The Neurodiversity Support Manager (NSM) is a new role which has been piloted in four Accelerator prisons since June 2021. The role of the NSM is to raise awareness of neurodiversity in prison and help strengthen approaches for identifying and supporting those with neurodivergent needs. This includes supporting prisoners in accessing and engaging in education, skills and work programmes in the prison.
This is an exciting new role. Working as a Neurodiversity Support Manager is a unique and rewarding role within prisons. Working as advocate for neurodivergent prisoners, NSMs encourage prisoners to make positive changes and provide opportunities for them to engage in rehabilitation.
To learn more about the Neurodiversity Support Manager role please join the Accelerator Prisons Project team for a digital information session on 14th April from 10 a.m. The session will be made available on Teams using the following link:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MTk1MmI3NjctMjAyNS00MjdjLWJhMmItMmM3MTI0MTM4Y2Yy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22c6874728-71e6-41fe-a9e1-2e8c36776ad8%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22bea35a2f-ba1e-46a5-9101-200bceee476f%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d&btype=a&role=a
Overview of the job
This is a Management role in an establishment
Summary
The post holder will be responsible for leading on support for prison residents with needs arising from neurodivergence.
Developing and implementing, through close collaboration with stakeholders, a “whole system” principle is of paramount importance, with the focus firmly on supporting individuals to achieve and progress through Education, Skill and Work pathways throughout their sentence. The Neurodiversity Support Manager (NSM) will liaise with the Learning and Skills Manager (LSM) and the education provider to ensure prisoners are supported, whether engaged with education or not, and that they continue to be supported in the community, including by the probation teams.
The post holder will provide support and guidance to ensure that all staff and stakeholders share the same vision and ethos of Neurodiversity.
The post holder will ensure that actions across education, skills and work (ESW) within their prison support a whole prison improvement approach which supports wider improvements across the estate.
This is a non-operational role with no line management responsibilities.
Responsibilities, Activities and Duties
The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:
- Focus on improving and ensuring that the quality of neurodiversity support and provision across ESW is at least good and moving towards outstanding. This is to include assessment of quality to inform the prison education, skills and work improvement plan which can be applied across various learning channels, e.g. classroom, industries, work areas, workshops, gym etc.
- Develop and maintain Neurodiversity needs strategy for the prison, incorporating and working with key stakeholders. This should include as a minimum: Curriculum and Learning Progression lead, LSM, Head of Reducing Reoffending (HoRR), Provider education and/or curriculum managers (including regional leads), Employment lead, New Futures Network (NFN) broker, Prison Work Coach, Head of Offender Management Unit, libraries, Information Advice and Guidance (IAG), activities, gym, industries manager, key worker
- Develop and maintain the systems and structures to ensure that delivery of all Education, Skills and Work activity is appropriate to all cohorts. Recommend and test related solutions leading into an improvement plan.
- Working with Senior Management Team (SMT) to implement, maintain, invest and update it as necessary.
- Manage the collection and collating Neurodivergent data at local level. Continually analyse and evaluate current practice for how neurodiversity provision is tailored to the needs of a wide range of prisoners, including those who are hard to reach, vulnerable prisoners, and those for whom English is not their first language.
- Track the progress of prisoners with neurodiversity in education, learning and work (including kitchen, horticulture, waste management industries/workshops, wing work and orderly/peer roles), analyse data and identify any participation and achievement gaps and address these.
- Case manage prisoners who require additional support to ensure it is both appropriate and helpful. Ensuring individual prisoners’ neurodiversity related information is shared, appropriately and lawfully, with relevant prison teams. E.g. PEF, IAG, LSM, Health Care
- Ensure that the needs of neurodiverse prisoners are considered in terms of availability of activities, appropriate adaptations and reasonable adjustment as required and sufficient places by working with the LSM, activities and industries managers.
- Raise awareness of Neurodiversity in the prison. Upskilling workforce to support a whole prison approach to supporting prisoners with neurodivergence using full staff briefings, internal communications and 1-2-1 processes but the list of opportunity is not exhaustive.
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme and shall be discussed in the first instance with the job holder.
An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence through the medium of English or (where specified in Wales) Welsh
Behaviours
- Changing and Improving
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
Essential Experience
This is a specialist, non-operational role thus it is desirable for the candidate to have the following experience:
- Experience of operating in a specialist neurodiversity role.
- Experience of working within the Special Educational Needs / Additional Learning Needs and Disabilities field.
- Detailed knowledge of OFSTED/Estyn’s EIF (Education Inspection Framework) and further education and skills criteria.
- Substantial teaching experience that has developed a range of strategies for developing accessible and appropriate resources to match the specific learning needs of individuals / cohorts of learner.
- History of developing highly effective partnerships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Worked in a complex multi-agency operational setting to achieve mutual outcomes.
- Experience of setting goals and achieving targets.
- Experience of implementing change, preferably within an educational setting.
- Evidence of innovation and impact in an educational context.
Technical requirements
Essential Qualifications:
- PGCE, Cert Ed or Level 5 in Education and Training.
- Level 4 Certificate in Supporting the learning of learners with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)/ Additional Learning Needs (ALN).
- Alternatively; Extensive relevant work experience of working with Neurodiverse learners in a custodial setting.
Desirable Qualifications:
- Level 4 TAQA qualifications in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes or equivalent, Level 7 Diploma in Assessing and Teaching Learners with Dyslexia, Specific Learning Differences and Barriers to Literacy.
Ability
- Strong written and excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
- Knowledge and use of the Microsoft suite of packages particularly Word, Excel, Project and PowerPoint.
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