Development & Dissemination
One of the things that separates The Butler Trust from other award schemes is that our work does not stop with the awards themselves.
Beyond the glitz and celebration of the Awards Ceremony we work with Award Winners and Commendees, together with the correctional services themselves, to develop and disseminate their work more widely, through:
- our accredited course in "developing & disseminating good practice" open to all Award Winners & Commendees (leading to a Level 3 qualification with the awarding body NCFE);
- on-going mentoring and support to our Award Winners and Commendees;
- good practice workshops, seminars and reports to help disseminate the work recognised through our Award Scheme.
We are also developing a "good practice" directory which will include details of the work of our past Award Winners and Commendees, and hope to launch shortly a journal on good practice within correctional settings.
Some recent examples:
Ali Gariuti [HMP and YOI Ashfield]
Winner of a 2007 Award for education & skills training work with young offenders
(supported by the Helen Hamlyn Trust)
Ali, from HMP and YOI Ashfield presented a report on his achievements to the Learning and Skills Council at their meeting in Coventry in October 2007:
Entitling his paper "Does the teaching and the learning of Juvenile Offenders stop them from reoffending?", Ali took as an example a juvenile offender he called John and explained his approach:
"I greet him with a smile and shake him by the hand. I try to understand what his needs are, orally and in writing, using a special ‘Learner’s Profile’ form. He becomes a part of the team with me as mentor/coach. As a member he has a say in the way learning and teaching is conducted in the classroom. He becomes a respected member of the team."
Ali explained that the teaching and learning has to be driven by the needs of the learner and that they have to want to obtain knowledge. He therefore has to create for them a competitive and rewarding environment where learning is for a purpose, not in a vacuum. The students formed a company to supply industrial cleaning to the residential wings and therefore wanted to learn how to deliver the service and manage it. Together they designed all the required documentation for running a modern business and in doing so they earn a range of accreditations.
The number of students grew from eight to 56 in 18 months and in the same period, accreditations in Business Studies and Finance at Level 2 has reached 72. Ali believes that not only is it working, it is the only logical way forward and refers to the process as "Justice Reinvestment".
Darren Rogers and Mayling Diskaya [Merseyside Probation Area]
Winners of a 2007 Award for diversity
Since winning the 2007 Award for Diversity the Black Mentoring Merseyside scheme, (BMM) run by probation officers Darren Rogers and Mayling Diskaya has had a major impact on offenders from black and ethnic minority (BME) communities in Merseyside. BMM identified the PRINCE2 project management training course to help recruit, retain and train volunteers. The team have also attended an interpreters’ course in Mandarin. BMM has worked with The Butler Trust to identify similar organisations in London to share best practice and has signed up to the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation’s Approved Provider Standard accreditation to help them to critically evaluate their project and ensure that their volunteer work adheres to nationally approved standards.
Chef Al Crisci and the HMP High Down catering department
Winners of a 2007 Award for Education and Skills training
(supported by the Bromley Trust in memory of Keith Bromley)
In 2009, The Clink at HMP High Down will re-open its doors at Her Majesty’s Prison High Down, Sutton, Surrey. This time, however, it will be a fine restaurant serving gourmet and wholesome food to prison staff, visitors and the public. The Clink represents the culmination of Chef Alberto Crisci’s ambitions for his student inmates – a fully operational restaurant Inside the walls of HMP High Down, operated entirely by prisoners, serving up to 1000 meals a day to staff, visitors and commercial customers. The restaurant will be self sustaining and non-profit making. Fund raiser and project co-ordinator Kate Quigley (Butler Trust Award winner) has received support for The Clink from many organisations, charities and individuals. Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver have expressed interest in actively supporting this endeavour.
