Activities Unit Manager - Neurodiversity Support Manager

Ministry of Justice; Newmarket; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Ministry of Justice is seeking a Neurodiversity Support Manager to lead the design and delivery of neurodiversity support within prison education, skills and work pathways. You will work with HoESW, LSM and industry managers to ensure prisoners engage with education and actively progress toward release into the community.

You will develop strategies, manage data and drive improvements across estates, focusing on equitable access, tailoring support for diverse learners, and coordinating with

Qualifications

• Experience in neurodiversity roles in education or custodial settings.
• Experience in SEN/ALN field.
• Knowledge of OFSTED/EIF and FE criteria.
• Substantial teaching experience with accessible resources for learners.
• History of developing effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience in complex multi-agency settings to achieve outcomes.
• Ability to set and achieve targets.
• Experience implementing change in educational contexts.

Responsibilities

• Lead on improving neurodiversity support quality and drive improvement plans across education, skills and work.
• Develop and maintain neurodiversity strategy with key stakeholders.
• Create systems for delivery across cohorts and test improvement solutions.
• Collect and analyse local neurodiversity data; identify gaps and address them.
• Case manage prisoners needing additional support to access ESW opportunities.
• Ensure sharing of neurodiversity information with relevant prison teams while maintaining compliance.
• Raise awareness of neurodiversity and upskill workforce supporting a whole-prison approach.
• Collaborate with education providers and internal teams to prepare prisoners for release.

Education

PGCE / Cert Ed or Level 5 in Education and Training

Level 4 Certificate in Supporting the learning of learners with SEND/ALN

Extensive experience in neurodiversity roles in educational or custodial settings

Experience implementing change in educational settings

Experience building partnerships with internal and external stakeholders

Experience in Special Educational Needs/ALN field

OFSTED/EIF knowledge and FE criteria

Substantial teaching experience with accessible resources

Ability to set goals and targets

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

Project

PowerPoint

Job description

All staff have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The post holder must undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation., 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 Head of Education Skills and Work (HoESW), Learning and Skills Manager (LSM), Industry Managers (IMs), Activity Managers (AM) and the education provider to ensure prisoners are supported to engage with education skills and work 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

• 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, Careers Information Advice and Guidance (CIAG), 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 access education, skills and work opportunities within the prison 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, CIAG, LSM, AM 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.
• Work with key stakeholders to ensure that neurodivergent prisoners receive the support and advice that they need to help them prepare for a release into the community.

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.

Level of security checks required DBS Standard.

Behaviours

• Changing and Improving
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Essential 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

• 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 experience working with people with complex needs in a neurodiversity specialist role in a custodial setting or other multi-disciplinary environment.

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.

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.

Recruitment Process

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 Transformative Business Services (0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail [e-mail]);
To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team ([e-mail]);
To the Civil Service Commission (details available here).

Disability Confident Employer

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 TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team. For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please watch our animated videos.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces. For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

Working Arrangements

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 full time working hours are 37 hours per week excluding breaks which are unpaid.

Work Patterns

HMPPS welcomes part‑time, flexible and job‑sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part‑time, flexible and job‑sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the HMPPS' Flexible Working policy.

Employment Terms

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.