5B: What is ‘success’ in leadership and management?

The recruitment of good teaching staff into a prison environment is something of a challenge. The Head of Learning and Skills at HMYOI Aylesbury says, ‘Preconceptions that some people have about teaching in prisons prevent a lot of good teachers from joining. When they do join us, a supportive induction and continued development and support is hugely important to encourage them to stay. Our approach to induction and support for staff is designed to help them through their early days, and to provide a continuing support structure throughout their time here.’

Continuous professional development needs are identified at interview and followed up with staff. All prospective new staff are encouraged to visit the establishment and sit in on a class before they are appointed. A college induction by Amersham and Wycombe College is followed by a comprehensive induction to the prison, presented by prison staff. After their appointment, staff sit in on the classes that they will be teaching and then move on to team teaching with an experienced member of staff. Only when they are ready to do so will they teach a class unassisted.

Each new member of staff is also allocated a mentor to help and support them. Initially a meeting is arranged for one day a week, moving to fortnightly or monthly as needed. The two of them decide how often they should subsequently meet, with the needs of the staff member guiding the process. The meetings are structured, with the mentor setting the staff member questions to think about prior to each meeting. Meeting notes and action points are taken. Outside this structure, the mentor is also there to give ad hoc help and advice as needed.

There has been better involvement of all staff in team meetings since this system has been introduced. Staff meetings for full- and part-time staff are held every Wednesday with detailed minutes and action points kept. These meetings are also used as staff development and update days. For example, if someone has been on a course, it is an ideal opportunity for him or her to give feedback to colleagues.

Where there are prison issues, they can be publicised and areas for general development can be dealt with. Senior managers from the college often attend meetings, and they may also be used as outside speakers. The Deputy Governor also attended a staff meeting that looked at issues concerning prisoner behaviour and the treatment of teaching staff.

A structured basic skills curriculum has been adapted to suit the needs of both full-time and part-time teachers. In addition, the clear emphasis on basic skills has led to a greater feeling of security among teachers. Richard Barrett, Education Manager at HMYOI Ayelsbury, observes that, ‘Part-time staff have been made to feel more secure with the allocation of extra hours, and the increased emphasis on basic skills.’ This, and the supportive approach taken, has led to a 50 per cent increase in staff recruitment in the last six months, and a subsequent increase in class attendance.

In one institution, teachers and staff working in vocational areas have ‘twilight’ training sessions from 5 to 7 pm once a week to share good practice and reinforce learning concepts for the forthcoming week. Staff are also able to undertake qualifications that are externally delivered during this period. It means staff are able to learn and update current practice without spending time out of their working environments.

Course reviews and evaluations involve all staff at one establishment. Staff comment on the main findings of their teaching programme, including noting any shortages of equipment or resources and suggested improvements to learning programmes. They identify key strengths and weaknesses as well as issues for improvement and accreditation and achievement for their learners. Targets are then set jointly for improvements for the following year.

HMYOI and Remand Centre Glen Parva has developed a very effective initiative to raise awareness and combat racism through the particular dedication and drive of two officers in the PE department. Parva against Racism (PAR) was established originally through links set up by the community sports development officer. The PAR committee membership includes volunteer representatives from the staff, young offenders and external agencies. The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness and educate staff and young offenders through sport, education and a variety of activities to combat racism. Examples of sporting activities include talks by players from Leicester City Football Club, Leicester Tigers and Leicester Riders Basketball Club.

Staff and prisoners have been asked to sign-up to the Parva against Racism Charter and show their support by wearing a Parva against Racism tie pin. The Sports Academy (Glen Parva's PE department) launched the ‘Show Racism the Red Card' scheme and also the 'Let's Kick Racism out of Football' campaign. These are national initiatives adopted by all premier league football clubs and which use football as a vehicle to deliver a clear anti-racism message. The Parva against Racism initiative arose because the prison felt that it didn't educate or make people aware enough of the impact racism has on individuals and society in general.

 

One of the greatest attributes of Parva against Racism is its inclusiveness. Prisoners, staff and the community are involved. The prison officer's staff association and 'Respect' (the staff support network for diversity) both fully endorse and support the campaign, and play an active part with representation on the Parva against Racism committee. Parva against Racism has attracted widespread interest within the prison service, with Rob Tinkler, a member of HMYOI Glen Parva Sports Academy staff, receiving the prison officer of the year award for his contribution to diversity.

 

Other activities include workshops, debates and poetry, in addition to using music as a medium to relay messages. Learners have produced music reflecting different cultures and with poignant lyrics, specifically to raise awareness of racism. All the events are very well supported by young offenders and staff. Learners involved in the committee value highly the opportunities made available through PAR, which include learning, self-development and organisational skills. Staff involved with PAR are very enthusiastic.

The Sports Academy team were awarded a Criminal Justice Board Certificate of Commendation (team category) for their outstanding commitment to diversity as well as a Butler Trust Certificate of Commendation.

Gary Kelly is the Basic Skills Coordinator at HMYOI Hindley.

He told us, ‘I have been responsible for this department since September [2003]. The Education Manager asked me to come over from another prison to coordinate this provision.

‘I started by getting all the staff together in order to give them as much guidance and support as I could. The staff needed someone who knew what they were talking about. For 12 months, they had not had literacy accreditation. I set about re-building the team and tackling ways of getting in new resources. I explained the strategy I wanted to put in place and I did an audit of the basic skills staff. I wanted to know what qualifications they had, so that I could action-plan those who had not done core curriculum training. The core curriculum training is good because it’s a course about how to act on things. Most have done [C&G] 9285.

‘Next, I wanted to get as many inmates as possible through nationally recognised qualifications. My biggest job after that was to make better use of the good opportunities in the workshops – to make basic skills become part of inmates’ everyday life inside this place. Basic skills is taught in the workshops now, but it needs embedding and there is still a great deal to do here in terms of the relationship between the teachers, who are on contract from Wigan and Leigh College and the vocational instructors, who are members of the prison staff. Our ALI inspection showed that basic skills were being coordinated across all our foundation programmes. What I want to do next is more IT backup and to change the culture in the workshop from production, so it’s not just how many widgets they can produce, it’s seeing its purpose as education and training. It is unusual in the prison estate to have appointed six learning support assistants. With the learners we have, they are a vital part of the job.’

Janet Long is the Education Manager for young offenders at HMYOI Hindley.

She says, ‘I’m in charge of the education contract, which I think is the biggest in the country (£3 million). We have 150 young offenders, with a capacity of 350. Overall, we have 487 in the prison. All of them are doing some kind of education or training or, if not, they are offered an offender behaviour programme.

‘I’m responsible for issues arising from the education contract, for the staff, and for managing the curriculum. I work to the OLSU standards, required to achieve a high level of education, and also to the prison management. To achieve high-quality provision in basic skills, we put a lot of emphasis on induction and assessment. Inmates have individual interviews so that they go on to programmes set up for their basic skills, IT, art and so on. We are trying to integrate key skills with basic skills. We need to do more underpinning work, as they are currently taught separately. What we want is for each prisoner to take their portfolio of work and achievement on to their next place. Guidance teams work with the further education colleges and other agencies to help with resettlement. We use education link workers to help people get places on courses outside.

‘I think the key to high-quality provision is having appropriately qualified staff, who are stimulating, use different learning styles and match the teaching and the work to each individual.’

In one young offender institution, literacy, numeracy and language programmes are taught in a recently opened, purpose-built education building. The two-storey building is accessible to learners who have restricted mobility, with lift access to the first floor. The rooms are light and attractively decorated. Informative and helpful posters relating to literacy and numeracy, and social and life skills are displayed on the classroom walls. The desks can be arranged to accommodate up to 12 learners working individually or in small groups.