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The purpose of this paper is to outline the qualitative research findings of the effectiveness of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service Programme Needs Assessment (PNA) in supporting decision making regarding selection onto high-intensity offending behaviour programmes.

Qualitative data analysis was used through the application of thematic analysis. Results were pooled using principles from meta-synthesis in order to draw conclusions as to whether the PNA was operating as designed.

Four overarching themes were identified, which have meaning in guiding decision making into, or out of high-intensity programmes. These were risk, need and responsivity, the importance of attitudes, motivation and formulation and planning.

The majority of data were collected from category C prisons. Generalisability of findings to high-intensity programmes delivered in maximum security prisons and prisons for younger people aged 18–21 years is limited. The research team had prior knowledge of the PNA, whether through design or application. Procedures were put in place to minimise researcher biases.

Findings suggest that the PNA is effective in guiding clinical decision making. Practitioners and policy makers can be assured that the processes in place to select into high-intensity programmes are effective, and aligned with the What Works in reducing re-offending.

This is the first evaluation into the effectiveness of the PNA designed to support clinical decision making regarding participant selection onto accredited offending behaviour programmes. Implications for practice have been discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine staff views’ of the usefulness of the Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) screening tools for learning disability and/or learning challenges (LDC) on offending behaviour programme selection and programme participant’s learning experiences.

In total, 11 treatment managers (TMs) and 10 programme graduates across 4 prison sites, from a range of HMPPS accredited programmes were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed, analysed and interpreted using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) method of thematic analysis.

Overall, TMs found the screening tools useful in aiding programme allocation decisions, particularly, in terms of the triangulated approach and were, in general, using them in line with the guidance. A number of key factors influenced programme allocation decisions, including participant factors, information gathered from a number of sources and from a range of staff and in collaboration with the individual. The importance of being responsive to the needs of the individual was highlighted. Group participants generally felt they were on the right programme according to their needs and found the programmes responsive. Suggestions for further research and improving programme selection are made.

Data were collected from four prisons, each providing a number of different accredited programmes. Caution is, therefore, needed when generalising the findings.

This research contributes to ensuring that those with LDC have equality of opportunity in reducing their risk of reoffending through accessing HMPPS accredited offending behaviour programmes most responsive to their learning needs. It also contributes to the growing evidence base about the effective use of LDC screening tools in forensic settings.

Lack of research means guidance regarding the most effective sensory interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities is limited. Preliminary consensus evidence was created by gathering experienced occupational therapists’ views on practice. The purpose of this study was to establish important elements of practice when using sensory integration-informed approaches on assessment and treatment units.

A modified Delphi process was used to gather, explore and synthesise the views of 13 occupational therapists. Data was collected via online surveys and included quantitative importance ratings and qualitative comments.

An experienced panel was in strong agreement regarding many elements of practice they felt were important for use in this setting, and a list of important practice items was created. Two themes were identified: “Complexity” and “Pragmatism vs. Ideal World.” The themes highlight challenges to practice in this area and the complex clinical reasoning used to overcome these.

Participants disagreed about the level of importance of a substantial number of items, therefore items that did not reach consensus may still be important.

This study indicates potentially helpful clinical tools, facilities and training and identifies support needed for occupational therapists working in these settings.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge regarding how occupational therapists do and could work with people with intellectual disabilities and sensory integration difficulties. Although this study takes a UK and Ireland perspective, similar agendas regarding care and support for those with intellectual disabilities internationally mean findings are relevant more widely.

The purpose of this paper is to validate the learning screening tool (LST) and the adapted functioning checklist-revised (AFC-R) as screening tools to aid programme allocation, and to investigate whether programme decision makers were using the tools as per the guidance provided by HMPPS Interventions Services.

LST and AFC-R data were gathered for 555 men who had been assessed for programmes between 2015 and 2018 across eight prisons and one probation area. WAIS-IV IQ data were also gathered if completed.

The findings provide support for the use of the LST, and AFC-R in helping to make decisions about programme allocation. The LST and AFC-R correlate well with each other, and a measure of intellectual functioning (WAIS-IV). Those who were allocated to learning disability or challenges (LDC) programmes scored higher on the LST (greater problems) and lower on the AFC-R (lower functioning) compared to those allocated to mainstream programmes. The LST had adequate predictive validity. In the majority of cases, the correct procedures were followed in terms of using the tools for programme allocation.

The sample size for examining the relationships between all three tools was limited. The research was also unable to take into consideration the clinical decision making involved in how the tools were interpreted.

This research contributes to the growing evidence about the effective use of LDC screening tools in forensic settings.

I Am Helen Keller is a student-friendly reader; yet, it offers realistic insights into Helen’s life as a: student, writer, lecturer, vaudeville performer, and activist. The book relates to students’ real lives because Helen is portrayed as a genuine person rather than an object for herofication; an individual with economic challenges and personality flaws as well as successes. Young students are introduced to the concept of mentoring, as people who sponsored and helped Helen achieve her life goals are described. Helen Keller overcame personal adversity and is often presented to young people in character education. The heart of her story, however, is that she was one of the first civil rights leaders for people with disabilities. She was at the forefront of attitude changes around the world. In this lesson, students engage in analyzing key points of Helen Keller’s life through a read-aloud and Anticipation Guide, discussion, cooperative group work, research, and presentation skills using educational technology.

Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the open acknowledgment of the importance of teaching and learning praxis that is grounded in compassion, understanding, cocreation, community, and flexibility. This is especially so for ‘traditional’ university spaces, in essence questioning and resisting the many established dynamics that face-to-face teaching and learning took for granted within many neoliberal and neocolonial higher education contexts. In this chapter, I propose positioning a love ethic as a primary point of departure for all educational engagements, a foundational shift in ontology (way of being) of the university. By focusing on love as liberation and justice, and teaching as an act of love, I draw on critical, engaged, and feminist pedagogies, as well as my experience as a lecturer in a social justice– and global citizenship-oriented program at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa, where I positioned a love ethic as central to my pedagogical approach. I argue that when we begin to view love as more than mere emotion, but as an ideological position that informs values and praxis within higher education (and our university “classrooms” in particular), we may move toward new and exciting ways of envisioning the decolonized university of the 21st century. A love ethic, as defined by bell hooks, offers possibilities for an approach to critical transformation that is not merely motivated by the change of institutional structures, but by the reform of values guiding teaching and learning and ways of being within higher education institutions.

Focuses on criminal justice, and especially on the courts, as a case study to illustrate some of the main changes which public sector managerialism has imposed on public sector institutions. Presents both theoretical and empirical evidence to suggest that the relevance of managerialism is now receding as contemporary concerns and conditions are encouraging a focus on new priorities and a post‐managerial style of organization. Finally, considers the ways in which postmanagerialism is likely to develop, again using criminal justice as the case study to illustrate possibilities and their implications for the wider public sector.