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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.

NSM Additional Information

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:

“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 watch the information video at this link: NSM Information Session

Overview of the job

This is a Management job in an establishment.

Summary

The post holder will be responsible for leading on supporting prisoners 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, Skills 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-rotational, non-operational job 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 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: Head of Education Skills and Work (HoESW) 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 of data on neurodiversity 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 neurodivergent prisoners 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 neurodivergent 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 Neurodivergent 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.

Salary

£33,201 - £38,184

Additional Information

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on ‘modernised’ terms in their current post or onto ‘unmodernised’ MoJ terms if they are on ‘unmodernised’ terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Standard working hours for this post are 37 hours per week excluding breaks which are unpaid.

If you are a current NPS employee, this vacancy may be available on a Loan basis for up to 2 years. Applications are invited from suitable qualified staff.

The Loan/Secondment is subject to the approval of the selected candidate’s Business Unit, which should be obtained before confirmation of appointment.

Benefits

Annual Leave

• The holiday year runs from 1 March. If you work a non standard work pattern your leave entitlement may be expressed in either hours or days as appropriate. Leave entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata basis and you will be advised of your actual entitlement on appointment. If you were appointed internally and your leave was previously calculated in days, this will continue to be the case.

Bank, Public and Privilege Holidays

• You are entitled to 9 days (66 hours 36 minutes) in recognition of bank, public and privilege holidays. These hours are added to your annual leave allowance. There is a requirement to work some public and bank holidays subject to your shift pattern and the operational needs of the establishment

Pension

• The Civil Service offers a choice of two pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Work Life Balance

HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is keen to encourage alternative working arrangements. Work life balance provides greater opportunities for staff to work more flexibly wherever managers and establishments can accommodate requests to do so. HMPPS offers flexible working subject to completion of a satisfactory probationary period and NVQ

Season Ticket Advance

• After two months’ service, you’ll be eligible to apply for a season ticket advance to purchase a quarterly or longer-period season ticket for travel between home and your place of work

Childcare Vouchers

For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers

Training

HMPPS is committed to staff development and offers a range of training and development opportunities, including areas such as Equality and Diversity, Dealing with Challenging Behaviour, Suicide Prevention and Anti Bullying Programmes

• There are opportunities to access promotion programmes and HMPPS provides a variety of training appropriate to individual posts

• All staff receive security and diversity training and an individual induction programme into their new roles

Eligibility

• All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post

• All external candidates are subject to 6 months probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS

• All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a group or organisation which the HMPPS considers to be racist

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

• To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk);
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team.

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.