24 December 2024

The Enhanced Support Team (EST) based at HMPYOI Feltham has been recognised as Team of the Year at a staff awards ceremony. They were recognised for their collective efforts in supporting a young person who is now transitioning to an adult establishment.

Melissa Beaumont, Nurse Consultant and Clinical Lead, Children & Young People Service Line, CNWL Health and Justice Services Directorate said:

“This is an incredible nomination and award, and testament to the brilliant integrated working at Feltham! I know things with this young person were incredibly challenging at times, and it is amazing to see them reflect on their experiences in the letter they wrote to the EST – acknowledging the importance of those relationships and how professionals did not give up. Well done to you all!”

CNWL’s teams at HMYOI Feltham provide primary physical health, mental health and substance misuse services, delivering an integrated model of trauma-informed healthcare for children, young people and young adults in the youth justice system.

ESTs are specifically designed to support children who need a higher level of coordinated service, helping to create personalised care plans to help these children transition back into mainstream services.

This way of working ensures services are directed appropriately and by the right people at the time, so that children are not overwhelmed by being approached by lots of different people at the same time. It also allows for focused interventions to reduce unhelpful behaviours and promote healthier ways of responding to difficult situations.

Katherine Stone, Safeguards, Safety & Separation at the HMPPS Youth Custody Service, and who put forward the nomination, said:

“I want to highlight the team that met every week for over a year to provide the consistent support for this young person, and have positively changed his life.

"The staff worked consistently and relentlessly with this child with complex needs and a high propensity towards violence. I believe that this team provided the child with a feeling of support that they had never received before… They continued to think of new ways to engage and motivate the child and forward think. The child had been progressed to probation early, and the team made sure that the probation officer, and their mother were part of the support network every week.”

We have included some excerpts below, which were included in a letter to the EST team from the young person:

“You took the time to understand me which was the first time I felt that professionals really wanted to help me as I didn’t experience this in the past.”

“My journey prior coming to Feltham was not the best and professionals weren’t consistent with me, in other words gave up on me early.”

“Also when I came to Feltham I thought this prison would be the same as other prisons I had been in, however despite my behaviour at the start you were all consistently supportive towards me.”

“In addition to that they [family] felt less worried about my safety when I was in your care and that says a lot about the work that you did with me. Without the support of the Feltham staff, I feel like I would never have become who I am today so therefore I thank them massively.”

Find out more about CNWL’s services at HMPYOI Feltham by visiting this page.