Promoting reintegration and reducing exclusions project from Milton Keynes Youth Justice Service
Summary:
Milton Keynes Youth Justice Service has shared its Promoting Reintegration and Reducing Exclusions (PRRE) project, which aims to support children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who are at high risk of exclusions or managed moves.
The practice includes the service level agreement (SLA), pre-assessment information, a referral form, feedback form and an anonymised example of a speech, language and communication needs assessment report.
Description:
The Promoting Reintegration and Reducing Exclusions (PRRE) project has been operating since 2019. It was developed by Milton Keynes Youth Justice Service and speech and language therapists (SLTs) to offer free speech and language therapy to schools and further education providers. The initiative aims to support children at high risk of fixed term or permanent exclusions and managed moves to alternative provisions, by helping education staff identify and address unmet needs effectively.
The project focuses on early identification of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This approach provides children with appropriate support so they can remain in mainstream education and reduces their risk of being exploited or entering the youth justice system.
The project is coordinated in partnership with Buckinghamshire Youth Offending Service and was funded by Milton Keynes YJS, the Early Intervention Youth Fund (EIYF), the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley and NHS England.
Key goals include reducing:
- First-time entrants into the youth justice system
- Exclusions and managed moves to alternative provisions
- Use of part-time school timetables
- Serious violence within Milton Keynes
The project also provides free training to participating schools to improve staff awareness and skills. In 2022-23, 64 assessments were conducted through the PRRE referral scheme, identifying a speech, language or communication need in 98% of cases, up from 96% in the previous year.