The Youth Custody Service has an individualised, trauma-informed, multi-agency approach to the care and management of children and young people in custody, which is responsive to the needs of each child and young person. The Framework for Integrated Care (also known as “SECURE STAIRS”), developed in partnership by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department for Education, provides for the training of staff in the youth estate to deliver more developmentally-attuned, psychologically-informed care, based on comprehensive assessments to ensure that all children’s and young people’s needs are identified. Each child and young person in custody will have a case formulation plan, which is shaped by input from all agencies involved. This collaborative approach ensures all services are responsive to each child’s needs, including any associated with clinical neurodiversity conditions.
As part of a wider HMPPS campaign covering sites in both the adult and youth estates, new neurodiversity managers have so far been recruited to three of the under-18 young offender institutions. Neurodiversity managers will support with identification and strategies to meet the needs of neurodiverse children in custody, ensuring knowledge, skills and support strategies are cascaded throughout the establishments they work in.
As part of their training to become youth justice workers, all prison officers in the youth estate receive training in SECURE STAIRS. Although neurodiversity conditions are not specifically covered, topics dealt with include children and young people’s brain development, and attachment issues; and managing trauma. NHS England supports continuous professional development of staff by providing training materials for each site to deliver periodic refresher training for staff, and staff learning is evaluated to ensure the effectiveness of the training.
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