|
|
Learning Matters e-news
March 2014
This month to celebrate International Women's Day we are putting women well and truly at the centre of matters. Many of this month's articles are written by women working in the criminal justice system with other women, or women who have experience of the criminal justice system themselves. We also bring you information about our exciting, free Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA) conference being held in April, which has a fantastic line up of speakers, including an Ofsted Inspector, desistance theory expert Professor Fergus McNeill and Emily Thomas from the MoJ Transforming Rehabilitation team. There are 16 different workshops sharing good practice to choose from including: what works for women learners, effective education induction, improving employability, supporting self employment and engaging ‘hard to reach’ learners. More info below. Keep reading for this month's letters and articles from prisoners and all the latest news in criminal justice. Contact us at lm@prisonerseducation.org.uk if you want to be in next month's edition or have any feedback. Prisoners can write to us at: FREEPOST: PRISONERS EDUCATION TRUST.
|
|
 |
|
Following the successful launch of Smart Rehabilitation in Parliament last year, the PLA will now be holding their first conference on Friday 25th April 2014 at the Open University campus in Milton Keynes. Speakers include Stephen Miller, Ofsted Inspector, Prof. Fergus McNeill and Emily Thomas (left - photo by Rebecca Radmore) from the Ministry of Justice's Transforming Rehabilitation team. To view the agenda, including details of the 16 sharing good practice workshops and book a place at this free event click here.
|
This month Nina Champion, PET's Head of Policy, (right - photo by Rebecca Radmore) was invited to give evidence twice in parliament on behalf of the charity. On 11th March, Nina spoke about Secure Colleges at the second sitting of the Parliamentary debate on the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. Read the minutes click here. Also, on 18th March, Nina gave evidence to the BIS Committee in its inquiry to Adult Literacy and Numeracy and was able to put forward many of the recommendations from the PLA Smart Rehabilitation report.
|
|
|
PLA films women learners at HMP Low Newton
“Learning isn’t just about the classroom; it’s about every day life” says tutor Mary Lax during a visit to film the innovative Bridge Programme at the Durham prison days before International Women's Day. The film tells the stories of the women who are finding learning therapeutic. Read about Debbie, a mother of nine who has survived a life time of abuse and now dreams of opening a business with her children here. The film will premiere at the PLA's Smart Rehabilitation conference. |
International Women's Day was celebrated across the world on 8th March. To tie in with this, we hear from Laurel Townsend, Policy and Campaigns Manager from Women in Prison a member organisation of the PLA. Laurel writes a thought provoking blog piece here about the current opportunities and challenges facing women involved in the CJS. Carlotta Allum, founder of Stretch also writes about her own experiences of imprisonment, her subsequent work with women prisoners and the transformative power of art and telling your story. Read more here
|
|
|
Listening to women's voices on Write to be Heard
Last month we published the evaluation of the Write to be Heard project, a prison writing competition delivered by the Arts Alliance. This month to celebrate International Women's Day, we publish a gold winning poem from H, a woman who took part whilst at HMP Peterborough. You can also read a woman's prison case study on page 60 of the evaluation.
|
Books prison ban is 'nuts'
The recent changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme, limiting prisoners access to books, is currently gaining lots of media attention. Read PET's press release about it here. You can show your support by signing a petition to ask for the new rules to be reviewed here. Listen to PET's Chief Executive, Rod Clark discuss the ban on guitars and how music and the arts can aid rehabilitation on radio BBC Radio5 Live here (7.40-7.48am). Read about an innovative new music project Mark (a prisoner learner) at HMP Gartree is developing here or SPCK, a project which is encouraging prisoners to read by providing free books to prisons here.
|
|
This month, for International Women's Day we hear from an anonymous former woman prisoner about her journey through the criminal justice system and the importance of education in creating a new identity for herself here. She writes: "Learning has perhaps been the biggest and most important aspect of my change in identity from offender to ex-offender to human being. I very rarely feel like I am branded with the label EX-OFFENDER and today my life is full of so many opportunities."
|
|
|
This month Clinks published an interim report, titled Run Ragged into the challenges women specific projects are experiencing at a time of dramatic policy change and austerity, and the impact this is having on service users. St Mungo's also published a report into women's homelessness titled Rebuilding Shattered Lives.
|
|
News and events
VACANCY: 2 - 3 trustee positions at PET. Closing date 23rd April 2014.
NEWS: 'Prison book ban plot is full of holes, writers tell Chris Grayling', Guardian, 26 March 2014.
NEWS: 'Why the Prison Book Ban Will Lead to Higher Levels of Reoffending', Sally Hunt, UCU's blog, Huffington Post, 25 March 2014
NEWS: Mandatory for prisoners to study, (Story on South Africa’s prisons), ENCA, 25 March 2014
NEWS: Changing prison bosses affects rehabilitation, warns shadow justice secretary, Manchester Evening News, 24 March 2014
NEWS: Belmarsh jail holds most dangerous prisoners in 'prison within a prison', (inspection reveals poor education results) 21 Guardian March 2014
NEWS: Frontline London: This ex-gang leader came close to suicide in jail. Now he fights to save others from a life behind bars, (featuring PET alumni) Evening Standard, 19 March 2014
NEWS: Erlestoke Prison older and disabled inmates 'feel victimised', BBC News, 19 March 2014
EVENT: Finding the best pathways to employment for ethnic minority job-seekers. Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion and Black Training and Enterprise Group. 3rd April, 2014, Amnesty International, London.
EVENT: Human rights in prisons in the UK and Europe. What would the highest standards look like? Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, June 27th 2014, HMP Grendon. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
