Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each secure children’s home are qualified speech and language therapists.

Andrew Selous

The information is not held centrally. However, certain roles within Secure Training Centres (STC) must be filled by qualified social workers. Qualification requirements for staff in Secure Children’s Homes (SCH) are set by the Department of Education.

All young people undergo a health and education assessment upon arrival into custody, whilst all staff undergo training in child and adolescent development and safeguarding. STC and SCH providers should ensure that they meet the needs of all detained persons including those with Special Education and Needs (SEN) requirements, and that all staff are suitably qualified to support young people and make referrals to other specialist support where this is appropriate.