Accredited programmes

Accredited Programmes are supported and informed by an evidence base and have evaluation processes embedded in their design. They are accredited by the Correctional Service Accreditation and Advice Panel (CSAAP), an international panel of subject matter experts who review each programmes’ evidence base, design, content and delivery against a rigorous set of criteria.

These programmes are only delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting for up to 12 participants. Consideration can be given to delivery on a one-to-one basis in exceptional circumstances. With the introduction of the Alternative Delivery Formats (ADF) approach as part of COVID-19 Recovery, variation to delivery in exceptional cases will be available, where required, to meet participant needs.

Programme requirements are available as a sentence of the Court under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and fall under the statutory purposes of sentencing of reform and rehabilitation of offenders and the protection of the public. They can also be added as Licence conditions to all types of prison Licences and Post Sentence Supervision. Probation Practitioners will identify all eligible and suitable cases at the pre-sentence or pre-release stage and will propose an Accredited Programme (when there are no barriers to attendance).

HMPPS offers a suite of Accredited Programmes which attend to a range of offending-related needs of participants. Each programme has suitability criteria that is used alongside the initial risk assessment to see if an individual is in scope for a programme. This will vary slightly between programmes but will consider aspects such as the individual’s need areas and responsiveness to intervention, as well as ensuring their consent and willingness/commitment to engage in an Accredited Programme.

Delivery of Accredited Programmes is flexible, based on regional need. All regions will deliver, as a minimum:

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)
Building Better Relationships (BBR)
Sexual Offending Programmes

Click on each tab below to see the full details for each programme available in your region.

Building Better Relationships (BBR)

BBR is for adult male perpetrators convicted of an Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) related offence against a female partner, who present with a moderate or high risk of committing future IPV offences.

BBR has a strong skills focus and participants are provided with a range of cognitive and behavioural skills and tools to support and promote the use of positive behaviours in their intimate relationships. BBR makes use of a range of treatment approaches and techniques.

BBR is a moderate intensity cognitive-behavioural group work intervention. Its theory base reflects the growing view that IPV is a complex problem that is likely to have multiple causes. BBR is responsive to the needs of individual participants and provides opportunities to develop skills that are introduced during the programme.

Probation staff are expected to refer all individuals who meet the eligibility and suitability criteria to BBR in community sites.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

IPV related offence (this can be index or historical)
Relationship problems

Social skills deficits:

Attitudes that support relationship violence
Stereotyped gender roles and inequality beliefs
Hostile masculinity
Aggression and anger
Emotional mismanagement/self-regulation
Jealousy
Coercive control
Obsessive and controlling behaviour towards a current or former partner in context of an intimate relationship
Separation / threat of separation
Alcohol and drug misuse

Delivery Method

BBR is comprised of 24 group and 5 individual sessions.

The Foundation Module is always delivered first and comprises of six 2.5-hour sessions which must always be completed prior to the other modules.

The remaining modules are delivered as either a closed group or in a rolling format, with each module comprising of six 2.5-hour groupwork sessions.

After each module participants have a one-hour one-to-one session with their designated facilitator, the purpose of which is to provide a bridge between modules, review learning and check progress against goals.

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)

TSP reduces recidivism by focusing on developing people’s ability to manage their emotions, make decisions, solve problems, achieve their goals, manage the influence of anti-social relationships and use pro-social interpersonal skills in their interactions with others.

By having and increasing these skills participants are then able to apply these to the way they live and manage their everyday lives. This in itself reduces the chances of offending reoccurring and helps participants set up and maintain a pro-social and constructive lifestyle. The programme however moves beyond this and actively encourages participants to apply the thinking skills to identify and effectively manage their risk factors. It coaches participants to apply their new and existing thinking and behavioural skills to develop personally relevant protective factors. It also coaches participants to apply the skills to setting and achieving approach focused, pro-social goals linked to relapse prevention.

TSP has seven Treatment Goals which target a range of dynamic risk factors, which are strongly evidenced in the literature to link to offending:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

A static risk level of medium and above (Score of 50 or above on OGRS3).
Participants must also have the relevant treatment needs (risk factors) targeted by the programme.
TSP Need is assessed through OASys using specified items, or the standalone TSP Needs Assessment Tool when an OASys is not available. Minimum score thresholds must be met to determine suitability.
Suitable for participants who are maintaining their innocence and who recognise that they can benefit from developing skills to manage personal risk factors, develop protective factors and skills for achieving pro-social goals.

Programme criteria, including scoring levels required, exceptions to the criteria, and the Responsivity Principle can be made on request, or are outlined in detail in the programme manuals.

Delivery Method

TSP consists of 19 sessions (15 group and 4 individual sessions), plus the post-programme review. There are fixed and rolling group formats available in the community.

Horizon

Horizon is designed to help men who have been convicted of a sexual offence address the factors that have been problematic in their general lives, and which have contributed to their offending behaviour. The ethos of the programme is to instil hope and optimism in the participants through working with them to strengthen and develop protective factors within their lives.

Horizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Horizon is formed of 9 Blocks:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

Must have committed a sexual or sexually motivated offence/offences against adults or children.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by Horizon and be motivated work on those problems.
Horizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: Horizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet these criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions.

People should not normally be considered for Horizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by Horizon.

Delivery Method

Horizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 31 sessions (62 hours) in length.

Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours in total) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme.

Participants will also have a 3–way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

New Me Strengths (NMS)

NMS has been specifically designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with learning disabilities and learning challenges (LDC).

NMS is a cognitive-behavioural group-work programme suitable for adult men who have been convicted for any offence. This programme is the LDC suite equivalent of the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP), Horizon, Building Better Relationships (BBR) and Resolve.

All of the programme materials are designed to target specific criminogenic needs outlined left. These needs are the focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to
them.

Participants start off by identifying existing strengths in each area. We work from a strengths-based approach, rather than solely focussing on risk. They set themselves goals to strengthen their Wheels and they work on these goals during the programmes. Ongoing skills practise is important.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

NMS has its own suitability criteria. This includes the individual’s risk, and the extent to which they have needs in the following areas:

Problem solving
Relationships
Offence supportive attitudes
Sense of purpose
Unhealthy sexual interest (those with sexual convictions only)

These needs have been linked to offending and are sometimes called criminogenic needs, or risk factors because of this.

Delivery Method

NMS is suitable for delivery in both a fixed group format and one to one with the individual.

When delivered as a group intervention with those who have sexual convictions, it is 38 sessions long (34 group and 4 individual). With all other groups, it is 36 sessions long (32 group and 4 individual sessions). All members of the group start and finish at the same time.

When delivered individually NMS runs for 13–15 sessions, dependent on the individual’s needs.

Living as New Me (LNM)

LNM is an accredited skills maintenance (booster) programme for those individuals who have already completed New Me Strengths (LDC* equivalent of Horizon) or Becoming New Me+ (LDC* equivalent of the Kaizen programme suitable for custody delivery).

*LDC: learning disabilities and learning challenges. This suite of programmes is designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with LDC.

All the programme materials are designed to target specific needs related to offending. These needs are the main focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to them.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

Suitable for individuals with an identified risk of reoffending of Medium and above
Have a conviction for a sexual, intimate partner violence (IPV) or general violent offence (GV)

LNM is suitable as a maintenance programme for anyone who has successfully graduated from NMS or BNM+.

Delivery Method

LNM is at least 5 sessions long, with flexibility to be longer dependent on the size of the group and the needs of each individual.

LNM is delivered monthly with a group of up to 8 people.

Healthy Identity Intervention (HII)

The Healthy Intervention Programme (HII) is a one-to-one programme that targets the social and psychological drivers of extremist offending. HII is made up of a combination of discussion, reflection, written exercises and skills practices.

HII cannot be recommended at Pre-sentence Report stage. It is only available following the completion of an ERG 22+ assessment which is completed by a Counter Terrorism Specialist Probation Practitioner, for those convicted of Terrorism Act/connected offences.

The number of modules and sessions an individual completes will depend on their particular level of risk and need. The more engaged and identified a participant is with an extremist group, cause or ideology, the more modules of the HII they are likely to complete. The central aims of the HII are to:

Prevent reoffending by reducing an individual’s willingness to offend on behalf an extremist group, cause or ideology (i.e. desistance)
Promote and facilitate disengagement from an extremist group, cause or ideology

A strengths-based approach to desistance is used, supporting supervised individuals in identifying and building on their existing strengths and skills to encourage and empower supervised individuals to disengage from an extremist group, cause or ideology, desist from offending and lead a pro-social lifestyle. Participants are expected to be open, reflective and willing to discuss aspects of their lives associated with their offending.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

HII can be delivered to adult males or females who have been convicted under terrorism legislation in England and Wales, or under other legislation where extremism is identified as a motivation by the Court.

HII must be recommended by an Extremism Risk Guidance (ERG) 22+ report in order to be commenced with an individual. The ERG 22+ is a structured professional judgement tool used to aid in the assessment of risk in those convicted of extremist offences. It informs risks management and recommends appropriate and targeted intervention. The ERG will highlight which particular risks and need require addressing and will therefore be integral to the planning of which parts of HII should be delivered.

Delivery Method

HII is a one-to-one programme, flexible to each individual’s risks and needs. It contains a core module and optional modules designed to support and facilitate supervised individuals in their desistance and disengagement.

HII is delivered over 3-4 months but the total length of delivery can vary greatly depending on the needs of participants and their level of engagement and identification with an extremist group, cause or ideology.

HII is delivered by counter terrorism Probation Officers.

‘The New Me is going somewhere better… and the new horizons are not only possible but achievable’
Mr. A, Graduate of Horizon