Neurodiversity Support Manager

G4S Care & Rehabilitation Services HMP Oakwood, Wolverhampton, WV10 7QD £41,818.46 per annum – Permanent, Full-Time (40 hours/week)

Benefits

• Company Pension
• Free on-site parking
• On-site canteen
• Training and development opportunities
• High Street Shop discounts

About HMP Oakwood

HMP Oakwood is a fully secure Category C men’s prison serving around 2,100 male prisoners. Praised by HM Inspectorate as an "impressive institution, with a culture of decency and respect", it follows a rehabilitation-focused philosophy, aiming to equip prisoners for successful reintegration into society.

The prison emphasises creating a respectful and normalised environment, fostering positive staff-resident relationships while ensuring dignity and respect. Education, skills, and work (ESW) programmes are central to this ethos, with a commitment to minimising unnecessary stress and maximising opportunities for progress.

The Role – Neurodiversity Support Manager

You will lead on neurodiversity support within HMP Oakwood, ensuring a whole-system approach to meet the needs of prisoners with neurodivergent traits.

Your focus will be on:

• Collaborating closely with stakeholders (e.g., Learning and Skills Manager, education providers, probation teams) to ensure neurodivergent individuals receive continuous, high-quality support inside and outside the prison.
• Advancing neurodiversity provision across all education, skills, and work pathways.
• Ensuring all half-way house and community reintegration support remains inclusive for neurodivergent individuals.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead neurodiversity strategy and support across education, skills, and work (e.g., classrooms, industries, workshops), ensuring a care-based, person-centred approach that achieves at least "good" (OFSTED criteria) and strives for outstanding.
• Develop and maintain a prison-wide neurodiversity needs strategy, working with key stakeholders such as:
  • Curriculum and Learning Progression leads
  • Head of Reducing Reoffending (HoRR)
  • Offender Management Unit, libraries, and activities teams
• Collaborate with Senior Management Teams to refine and implement systems that ensure ESW activities are inclusive and adaptable across all cohorts.
• Collect, analyse, and evaluate neurodiversity-related data to identify barriers and areas for improvement, particularly for:
  • Hard-to-reach prisoners
  • Vulnerable groups
  • Non-English speakers
• Monitor neurodivergent residents' progress in education, work, and activity-based roles (kitchen, horticulture, waste management, orderly/peer programmes), addressing participation or achievement gaps.
• Case-manage residents requiring neurodiversity support, ensuring their needs are effectively shared with relevant prison teams (e.g., the Prisoner Engagement Fund (PEF), health care).
• Promote neurodiversity adaptations (e.g., availability of resources, learning spaces, reasonable adjustments) within classrooms, workshops, and other ESW activities.
• Raise awareness of neurodiversity challenges across staff and stakeholders through updates, briefings, and upskilling programmes (including bespoke workshops).