Development Programme

As well as celebrating excellence through our Award Scheme, the Butler Trust works with our Award Winners and Commendees, through our Development Programme, to help them to build on their achievements. We also seek to share their good practice more widely through our magazine, Inspire, and our online directory.

In 2009, the Trust identified that it could do more to share the good practice of our Award Winners and Commendees. To that end, we worked in conjunction with an awarding body, NCFE, to develop an accredited qualification entitled ‘Developing and Disseminating Good Practice in Correctional Settings’. Each Award Winner and Commendee is invited to enroll on the course and the Trust aims to support them to achieve the objective of sharing their good practice. The qualification was launched for the 2009-10 Award Winners and Commendees and has proved a huge success, garnering extremely positive feedback.

The course is divided into two parts. Part one is about the development of good practice in correctional settings; it explores the definition of good practice and enables learners to describe in detail how good practice is achieved and how barriers and threats to achievement can be overcome. Strategies to maintain, develop and improve good practice are also explored.

Part two is about how good practice can be disseminated in correctional settings. Dissemination and sharing good practice is vital so that the skills of staff and services may develop and improve in the sector. Part two helps learners to identify target groups who may be responsive to good practice and select ways the information may be shared.

The course is delivered through two workshop days which take place at a number of venues around the country (past venues have included London, Rugby, Manchester and Edinburgh). All of the learners are invited to a graduation ceremony in February where they are presented with their certificate by a Trusteee or Patron of The Butler Trust.

The course has a range of themes which feature in other qualifications such as project planning and management, interpersonal skills and sharing good practice. The course is an excellent way to demonstrate on-going professional development and can potentially enhance career opportunities; it can also be a good return to learning if someone hasn’t studied for a while, as well as a superb networking opportunity and, hopefully, a lot of fun too.