Found: , Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. 5.References Bryan, K. (2004), Prevalence of speech

Found: the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, the number of children diagnosed with developmental delays and speech

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 13 December 2023 to Question 5310 on Young Offender Institutions: Isolation, what data his Department holds on the number and proportion of the children and young people who were separated for more than seven days in that period who had been identified as neurodivergent.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested relating to children and young people separated for more than seven days who have speech and language difficulties, or are identified as neurodivergent, is not collected centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

In the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, 294 separations of more than seven days involved children and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds (excluding children and young people from white minority backgrounds). This equates to 67 percent of the total number of separations of more than seven days (excluding those whose ethnicity is not known).

The Youth Custody Service recognises the potential negative impact of children not being able to mix and interact with their peers, which is why children are only separated as a last resort – to manage the risk to or from other children, and after alternative interventions have been exhausted. Dynamic assessment of risk factors also determines the duration of the separation period. Any separation must be regularly reviewed and may only be in place for as long as is necessary to manage the risk to the child or others. As part of its efforts to ensure that separation is managed as effectively as possible, the Youth Custody Service is reviewing its guidance on ‘Minimising and Managing Use of Separation and Isolation in the Youth Estate Framework’, which was published in April 2022.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 13 December 2023 to Question 5310 on Young Offender Institutions: Isolation, what data his Department holds on the number and proportion of the children and young people who were separated for more than seven days in that period who had been identified as having speech and language difficulties.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested relating to children and young people separated for more than seven days who have speech and language difficulties, or are identified as neurodivergent, is not collected centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

In the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, 294 separations of more than seven days involved children and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds (excluding children and young people from white minority backgrounds). This equates to 67 percent of the total number of separations of more than seven days (excluding those whose ethnicity is not known).

The Youth Custody Service recognises the potential negative impact of children not being able to mix and interact with their peers, which is why children are only separated as a last resort – to manage the risk to or from other children, and after alternative interventions have been exhausted. Dynamic assessment of risk factors also determines the duration of the separation period. Any separation must be regularly reviewed and may only be in place for as long as is necessary to manage the risk to the child or others. As part of its efforts to ensure that separation is managed as effectively as possible, the Youth Custody Service is reviewing its guidance on ‘Minimising and Managing Use of Separation and Isolation in the Youth Estate Framework’, which was published in April 2022.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 13 December 2023 to Question 5310 on Young Offender Institutions: Isolation, how many and what proportion of children and young people who were separated for more than seven days were from an ethnic minority background.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested relating to children and young people separated for more than seven days who have speech and language difficulties, or are identified as neurodivergent, is not collected centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

In the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, 294 separations of more than seven days involved children and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds (excluding children and young people from white minority backgrounds). This equates to 67 percent of the total number of separations of more than seven days (excluding those whose ethnicity is not known).

The Youth Custody Service recognises the potential negative impact of children not being able to mix and interact with their peers, which is why children are only separated as a last resort – to manage the risk to or from other children, and after alternative interventions have been exhausted. Dynamic assessment of risk factors also determines the duration of the separation period. Any separation must be regularly reviewed and may only be in place for as long as is necessary to manage the risk to the child or others. As part of its efforts to ensure that separation is managed as effectively as possible, the Youth Custody Service is reviewing its guidance on ‘Minimising and Managing Use of Separation and Isolation in the Youth Estate Framework’, which was published in April 2022.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 13 December 2023 to Question 5310 on Young Offender Institutions: Isolation, whether he is taking steps to reduce the number of children and young people who are separated for more than seven days.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested relating to children and young people separated for more than seven days who have speech and language difficulties, or are identified as neurodivergent, is not collected centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

In the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, 294 separations of more than seven days involved children and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds (excluding children and young people from white minority backgrounds). This equates to 67 percent of the total number of separations of more than seven days (excluding those whose ethnicity is not known).

The Youth Custody Service recognises the potential negative impact of children not being able to mix and interact with their peers, which is why children are only separated as a last resort – to manage the risk to or from other children, and after alternative interventions have been exhausted. Dynamic assessment of risk factors also determines the duration of the separation period. Any separation must be regularly reviewed and may only be in place for as long as is necessary to manage the risk to the child or others. As part of its efforts to ensure that separation is managed as effectively as possible, the Youth Custody Service is reviewing its guidance on ‘Minimising and Managing Use of Separation and Isolation in the Youth Estate Framework’, which was published in April 2022.

Many children rely on Makaton, a language program using signs and symbols, to communicate. However, they face a significant challenge, many people are unable to understand what they are saying.

Found: Moreover, around 7% of children aged 5-16 years have speech and language difficulties (RCSLT).

Found: combination with other conditions, including ADHD, learning disability, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, speech

Found: This can help to address speech and language difficulties, especially for children in their early school

Found: • Developmental Language Disorder (DLD, including speech and language difficulties).

Found: - Developmental Language Disorder (DLD, including speech and language difficulties).

Found: over-representation of children in care, children living in poverty, those with neurodivergent conditions or speech

Found: over-representation of children in care, children living in poverty, those with neurodivergent conditions or speech

Found: • Developmental Language Disorder (DLD, including speech and language difficulties).

Found: - Developmental Language Disorder (DLD, including speech and language difficulties).