Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps officials in his Department is taking with officials in other Government departments to establish a joined up approach to support children and adults with an Acquired Brain Injury.
Answered by Will Quince
It is important that children with medical conditions, such as acquired brain injury, are supported to receive a full education.
A pupil’s acquired brain injury could manifest in different ways. Support should be tailored to their own learning barriers, irrespective of their diagnosis. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice asks schools and colleges to address pupils’ individual educational needs, regardless of their condition.
Under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, governing boards are required to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance covers a range of areas and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must meet the Teachers’ Standards, which include a requirement that they adapt teaching to meet the strengths and needs of all pupils. The performance of all existing teachers in maintained schools must be assessed every year against the Teachers' Standards. It is the responsibility of school leaders to determine the training needs of their staff, within their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management.
In line with the approach that we expect school-based staff to identify and intervene to support any pupil who presents with difficulties in learning, we expect that training should relate to the specific learning needs an individual child has. For example, we have a contract with NASEN (the Whole School SEND consortium) to support schools, this includes training for school staff on how to tailor provision for different types of learning needs.
The SEND system is designed to get the right support in place for all children and young people with additional needs, so they are able to fulfil their potential, just like other children.
The reforms to the SEND system are key to this. The government has strengthened systems for joining up education, health and care support for those with complex needs, and placed families at the heart of the decision-making about their children. The Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan process is crucial in meeting the needs of those with complex needs. The arrangements are intended to support:
This should provide a basis for the sharing of information and of expertise to ensure the needs of children and young people with acquired brain injury are supported in school.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure that children and young people with an Acquired Brain Injury have a return to school pathway plan that provides tailored support for them, their family and their teachers.
Answered by Will Quince
It is important that children with medical conditions, such as acquired brain injury, are supported to receive a full education.
A pupil’s acquired brain injury could manifest in different ways. Support should be tailored to their own learning barriers, irrespective of their diagnosis. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice asks schools and colleges to address pupils’ individual educational needs, regardless of their condition.
Under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, governing boards are required to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance covers a range of areas and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must meet the Teachers’ Standards, which include a requirement that they adapt teaching to meet the strengths and needs of all pupils. The performance of all existing teachers in maintained schools must be assessed every year against the Teachers' Standards. It is the responsibility of school leaders to determine the training needs of their staff, within their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management.
In line with the approach that we expect school-based staff to identify and intervene to support any pupil who presents with difficulties in learning, we expect that training should relate to the specific learning needs an individual child has. For example, we have a contract with NASEN (the Whole School SEND consortium) to support schools, this includes training for school staff on how to tailor provision for different types of learning needs.
The SEND system is designed to get the right support in place for all children and young people with additional needs, so they are able to fulfil their potential, just like other children.
The reforms to the SEND system are key to this. The government has strengthened systems for joining up education, health and care support for those with complex needs, and placed families at the heart of the decision-making about their children. The Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan process is crucial in meeting the needs of those with complex needs. The arrangements are intended to support:
This should provide a basis for the sharing of information and of expertise to ensure the needs of children and young people with acquired brain injury are supported in school.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure that additional training on acquired brain injury awareness is in place for school-based staff, particularly named lead professionals who support pupils with an Acquired Brain Injury and Special Educational Needs Coordinators.
Answered by Will Quince
It is important that children with medical conditions, such as acquired brain injury, are supported to receive a full education.
A pupil’s acquired brain injury could manifest in different ways. Support should be tailored to their own learning barriers, irrespective of their diagnosis. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice asks schools and colleges to address pupils’ individual educational needs, regardless of their condition.
Under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, governing boards are required to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance covers a range of areas and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must meet the Teachers’ Standards, which include a requirement that they adapt teaching to meet the strengths and needs of all pupils. The performance of all existing teachers in maintained schools must be assessed every year against the Teachers' Standards. It is the responsibility of school leaders to determine the training needs of their staff, within their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management.
In line with the approach that we expect school-based staff to identify and intervene to support any pupil who presents with difficulties in learning, we expect that training should relate to the specific learning needs an individual child has. For example, we have a contract with NASEN (the Whole School SEND consortium) to support schools, this includes training for school staff on how to tailor provision for different types of learning needs.
The SEND system is designed to get the right support in place for all children and young people with additional needs, so they are able to fulfil their potential, just like other children.
The reforms to the SEND system are key to this. The government has strengthened systems for joining up education, health and care support for those with complex needs, and placed families at the heart of the decision-making about their children. The Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan process is crucial in meeting the needs of those with complex needs. The arrangements are intended to support:
This should provide a basis for the sharing of information and of expertise to ensure the needs of children and young people with acquired brain injury are supported in school.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to include Acquired Brain Injury in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice.
Answered by Will Quince
It is important that children with medical conditions, such as acquired brain injury, are supported to receive a full education.
A pupil’s acquired brain injury could manifest in different ways. Support should be tailored to their own learning barriers, irrespective of their diagnosis. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice asks schools and colleges to address pupils’ individual educational needs, regardless of their condition.
Under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, governing boards are required to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance covers a range of areas and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must meet the Teachers’ Standards, which include a requirement that they adapt teaching to meet the strengths and needs of all pupils. The performance of all existing teachers in maintained schools must be assessed every year against the Teachers' Standards. It is the responsibility of school leaders to determine the training needs of their staff, within their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management.
In line with the approach that we expect school-based staff to identify and intervene to support any pupil who presents with difficulties in learning, we expect that training should relate to the specific learning needs an individual child has. For example, we have a contract with NASEN (the Whole School SEND consortium) to support schools, this includes training for school staff on how to tailor provision for different types of learning needs.
The SEND system is designed to get the right support in place for all children and young people with additional needs, so they are able to fulfil their potential, just like other children.
The reforms to the SEND system are key to this. The government has strengthened systems for joining up education, health and care support for those with complex needs, and placed families at the heart of the decision-making about their children. The Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan process is crucial in meeting the needs of those with complex needs. The arrangements are intended to support:
This should provide a basis for the sharing of information and of expertise to ensure the needs of children and young people with acquired brain injury are supported in school.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Acquired Brain Injury Card for people under 18 years old produced by the Child Brain Injury Trust, what steps officials in his Department have taken with officials in the (a) Department for Health and Social Care and (b) Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities to ensure that that injury card is promoted in (i) schools, (ii) hospitals and (iii) local authorities.
Answered by Will Quince
We welcome the introduction of the Acquired Brain Injury Card and feel that offering young people this personal Card is a helpful in supporting their independence and to help others to better understand the potential impact of their injury. It is up to individual schools to choose what to promote in their schools.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to HM Inspectorate of Probation report, Traumatic Brain Injury, published on 13 August 2021, what steps he is taking to (a) implement training on the effects of traumatic brain injury for staff working in youth justice, probation and prison services, (b) promote awareness and understanding of the effects of traumatic brain injury and (c) implement further linkworker schemes for offenders with histories of traumatic brain injury.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice is committed to meeting and protecting the needs of all vulnerable offenders, including those with neurodivergent needs such as impairments due to traumatic brain injuries (ABIs).
In the Sentencing White Paper ‘A Smarter Approach to Sentencing’, the Department committed to a National Staff Training Toolkit on Neurodiversity. This will aim to improve our staff’s awareness and understanding of neurodivergent needs, including traumatic brain injury, and enable them to feel confident to make referrals to health services if needed. In the National Disability Strategy, published in July this year, we committed to roll out the toolkit by 2022.
It is a priority within the new Probation Disability Plan to provide staff with the relevant skills to support people on probation, including developing a model for learning about the effects of Acquired Brain Injury.
More widely, the Lord Chancellor commissioned the justice inspectorates to carry out a Call for Evidence (CfE) on neurodiversity in the criminal justice system (CJS) which was published on 15 July 2021. The CfE report provides an overview of the current national provision to support adult offenders with neurodivergent conditions in the CJS, including traumatic brain injury.
The CfE report provides six recommendations as to how current provision might be improved. MoJ officials are drafting an action plan in response to the recommendations of the report which is due to be published in October. This will include considering increased opportunities for neurodivergent individuals, including through link worker schemes.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of young adults aged 18-25 who are sentenced for serious and violent offences have been a victim of (a) crime (b) violent crime and (c) sexual offending as a child.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Young adults aged 18-25 year olds are recognised as a group that has distinct needs, which may include factors such as psychosocial maturation, neurological development or history of acquired brain injury, among other issues.
A detailed assessment is contained within the Offender Assessment System (OASys) and specific screening processes are also used. The Maturity Screening Tool allows practitioners to identify young adult men with lower levels of maturity who are most in need of support.
The Choices and Change Resource Pack can be used with young adult men to support the development of psychosocial maturity. It is important to note that there are a range of accredited programmes available, which young adult men can access if they meet the suitability criteria in terms of risk, need and responsivity factors. The screening tool can be completed at a number of stages, including as a pre-sentence report or as part of sentence planning. An individual’s history, including adverse childhood experiences, can also be noted. This information is recorded on an individual’s case file and shared as necessary.
The number of young adults who received a pre-sentence report between July and September 2020 is outlined in table 1 below:
Table 1: Court reports prepared, July to September 2020, England and Wales (1) (2) (3) (4) | |
Age group | Number of court reports prepared |
18-25 | 4,234 |
All ages | 16,993 |
(1) Excludes breach, deferred sentence and court review reports (for further details please see the guide to offender management statistics at the link below).
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2020
(2) During April to June 2020, the number of cases processed at the criminal courts was substantially reduced as a result of the operational restrictions that were put in place on 23 March 2020 following the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely that the impact of these operational restrictions will continue to affect subsequent periods as numbers recover to the levels seen before the pandemic.
(3) Data refers to court reports prepared rather than individuals, therefore, the same individual may be counted more than once.
(4) Age on sentence date.
For part (a) of PQ 166405, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) can only provide figures on the number of young adults receiving a pre-sentence report. The second element of part (a), which requests figures on the proportion of young adults receiving a pre-sentence report, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it involves linking court data with probation data.
The information requested for parts (b) and (c) of PQ 166405 is not collated centrally by the MoJ.
The MoJ does not collect data on the effect of adverse childhood experiences on levels on criminality in young adults who are either charged or sentenced.
The MoJ does not hold any data that would allow us to say what proportion of young adults convicted for serious offences were themselves past victims of the specified offence types
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of adverse childhood experiences on levels of criminality among young adults aged 18-25 who are (a) charged and (b) sentenced.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Young adults aged 18-25 year olds are recognised as a group that has distinct needs, which may include factors such as psychosocial maturation, neurological development or history of acquired brain injury, among other issues.
A detailed assessment is contained within the Offender Assessment System (OASys) and specific screening processes are also used. The Maturity Screening Tool allows practitioners to identify young adult men with lower levels of maturity who are most in need of support.
The Choices and Change Resource Pack can be used with young adult men to support the development of psychosocial maturity. It is important to note that there are a range of accredited programmes available, which young adult men can access if they meet the suitability criteria in terms of risk, need and responsivity factors. The screening tool can be completed at a number of stages, including as a pre-sentence report or as part of sentence planning. An individual’s history, including adverse childhood experiences, can also be noted. This information is recorded on an individual’s case file and shared as necessary.
The number of young adults who received a pre-sentence report between July and September 2020 is outlined in table 1 below:
Table 1: Court reports prepared, July to September 2020, England and Wales (1) (2) (3) (4) | |
Age group | Number of court reports prepared |
18-25 | 4,234 |
All ages | 16,993 |
(1) Excludes breach, deferred sentence and court review reports (for further details please see the guide to offender management statistics at the link below).
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2020
(2) During April to June 2020, the number of cases processed at the criminal courts was substantially reduced as a result of the operational restrictions that were put in place on 23 March 2020 following the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely that the impact of these operational restrictions will continue to affect subsequent periods as numbers recover to the levels seen before the pandemic.
(3) Data refers to court reports prepared rather than individuals, therefore, the same individual may be counted more than once.
(4) Age on sentence date.
For part (a) of PQ 166405, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) can only provide figures on the number of young adults receiving a pre-sentence report. The second element of part (a), which requests figures on the proportion of young adults receiving a pre-sentence report, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it involves linking court data with probation data.
The information requested for parts (b) and (c) of PQ 166405 is not collated centrally by the MoJ.
The MoJ does not collect data on the effect of adverse childhood experiences on levels on criminality in young adults who are either charged or sentenced.
The MoJ does not hold any data that would allow us to say what proportion of young adults convicted for serious offences were themselves past victims of the specified offence types
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of young adults aged 18 to 25 years received (a) a pre-sentence report, (b) a maturity assessment alongside a pre-sentence report and (c) an assessment for neuro-disabilities alongside a pre-sentence report in the most recent period for which that information is available.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Young adults aged 18-25 year olds are recognised as a group that has distinct needs, which may include factors such as psychosocial maturation, neurological development or history of acquired brain injury, among other issues.
A detailed assessment is contained within the Offender Assessment System (OASys) and specific screening processes are also used. The Maturity Screening Tool allows practitioners to identify young adult men with lower levels of maturity who are most in need of support.
The Choices and Change Resource Pack can be used with young adult men to support the development of psychosocial maturity. It is important to note that there are a range of accredited programmes available, which young adult men can access if they meet the suitability criteria in terms of risk, need and responsivity factors. The screening tool can be completed at a number of stages, including as a pre-sentence report or as part of sentence planning. An individual’s history, including adverse childhood experiences, can also be noted. This information is recorded on an individual’s case file and shared as necessary.
The number of young adults who received a pre-sentence report between July and September 2020 is outlined in table 1 below:
Table 1: Court reports prepared, July to September 2020, England and Wales (1) (2) (3) (4) | |
Age group | Number of court reports prepared |
18-25 | 4,234 |
All ages | 16,993 |
(1) Excludes breach, deferred sentence and court review reports (for further details please see the guide to offender management statistics at the link below).
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2020
(2) During April to June 2020, the number of cases processed at the criminal courts was substantially reduced as a result of the operational restrictions that were put in place on 23 March 2020 following the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely that the impact of these operational restrictions will continue to affect subsequent periods as numbers recover to the levels seen before the pandemic.
(3) Data refers to court reports prepared rather than individuals, therefore, the same individual may be counted more than once.
(4) Age on sentence date.
For part (a) of PQ 166405, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) can only provide figures on the number of young adults receiving a pre-sentence report. The second element of part (a), which requests figures on the proportion of young adults receiving a pre-sentence report, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it involves linking court data with probation data.
The information requested for parts (b) and (c) of PQ 166405 is not collated centrally by the MoJ.
The MoJ does not collect data on the effect of adverse childhood experiences on levels on criminality in young adults who are either charged or sentenced.
The MoJ does not hold any data that would allow us to say what proportion of young adults convicted for serious offences were themselves past victims of the specified offence types
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Liaison and Diversion services routinely assess the maturity of defendants aged between 18 and 24 for pre-sentence reports.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Liaison and Diversion services screen and assess individuals of any age who are referred to the service for a wide range of vulnerabilities, including mental health, substance misuse, learning disabilities and difficulties, autism, acquired brain injury, speech language and communications needs. This helps inform an indication of maturity and ability to comprehend or engage with services. There are no currently known assessment tools designed specifically to assess maturity.
If concerns regarding maturity are identified, these will be shared, with the individual’s consent, with key decision-makers in criminal justice agencies and Liaison and Diversion outreach workers will design an holistic package of support, making referrals to relevant health, social care and voluntary sector services.