HMP La Moye – Submission to Skills Executive
October 2008
Background
Amongst the EDD ring-fenced resources allocated towards the future work of the Skills Executive is a ‘Skills Development’ budget, which has historically been used by the Department to fund ad-hoc skills/training initiatives, not included within its mainstream programme.
In recent years the budget has been used, amongst other things, to provide resources to the following initiatives:
- Bien’ venue a JHA-run training initiative for the hospitality sector
- Princes Trust support for Trust activities and programmes on the island
- Enterprise Education support for individual initiatives with local schools (in 2007)
More recently, in late 2007, EDD received a request from HMP La Moye for support in terms of proposed new training initiatives, as part of a programme being established by Phil Anderson, who at that stage was working at the Prison on secondment from Hautlieu School.
EDD gave serious consideration to the request and allocated £65,000 from the Skills Development budget, as a contribution towards the costs of constructing two new steel framed & clad buildings, intended to house the proposed production area and training facilities. These were to replace adapted shipping containers, which historically had been improvised to provide training facilities at the Prison.
Unfortunately at that time, the Skills Development budget for 2007 was exhausted and it was not possible to fully fund development, including internal fit-out or heating & ventilation for the new units.
Update
Since the investment by EDD, significant strides have been made by Phil Anderson and his team at HMP (see accompanying submission) and having recently attended a qualification awards ceremony at the Prison, efforts appear to be encouraging many of the younger prisoners to take learning and skills very seriously.
There now appears to be a strong momentum building on the skills front at HMP, with Phil beginning to recruit and develop a strong team of teachers and trainers capable of encouraging training amongst large parts of the prison population. This has been matched by additional Prison investment in refurbishing several of its existing premises to accommodate other training and development facilities.
Following another recent visit to HMP, I invited Phil Anderson to make a further submission to EDD outlining the types & scale of additional funding that the Prison would ideally like, that would most likely help maintain the progress being made on skills development. On Wednesday 17th September, David Greenwood and I met with Phil to receive this submission and discuss more generally how EDD and ESC (through the Skills Executive), could support future development.
A copy of the submission is attached, along with a presentation outlining IT development/Distance Learning proposals, which if funding were immediately available, could be built into the fit-out of the new accommodation wings, currently being built at the Prison.
Recommendation
As mentioned above, the Prison has made a significant improvement in terms of how it supports and encourages prisoners to develop new skills, in preparation for their eventual release into the community. As a result of recent visits and meetings it is clear that significant further investment is still required in order to consolidate and build upon the investment made by EDD in late 2007.
Even with the extra investment agreed by the Council of Ministers at the Prison, the filter-down effect reaching the training & skills area of prison operations is less than required to improve current facilities to a standard that would provide basic provision within any external mainstream training establishment.
Basic rudimentary improvements such as ventilation, heating and weatherproofing to existing facilities would appear to represent an adequate response, giving the prisoners facilities to be able to train year-round, without putting their health at risk or suffering the strictures of extremes of heat or cold. It also appears ironic that the prison is not yet in a position to be able to fund the most basic of equipment (cookers) for its newly fitted-out kitchen training area, allowing prisoners to learn basic lifestyle skills such as cooking.
The control of the Skills Development funding now rests with the Skills Executive and ultimately it is the Executive that must sanction sign-off of any further funding to the Prison for skills development and training from this source. Adequate resources remain within the budget to positively impact upon the Prison’s urgent skills investment needs, however not to the extent of covering all items on the recent ‘wish-list’
Against this background, EDD would like to recommend to the Skills Executive that subject to receipt of further, more in-depth quotations (an area Jersey Enterprise is seeking to support, through the identification of potential other suppliers) a sum of £30,000 be released for immediate investment in improving the prison training facilities, with priority to be given towards upgrading the training & production facilities.
It is also recommended that the Skills Executive adopt an advocacy role with both the existing and new Council of Ministers, to ensure that in-unit skills training at HMP La Moye be given a significantly higher priority, with the rationale being to significantly reduce costs in other areas of States expenditure, through the reduction of re-offending.
Andrew Sugden
Deputy Chief Officer
Economic Development
17th October 2008
HMP La Moye –Submission to Skills Executive
September 2008
Stimulated by the supporting grant from ED last year the Prison has made significant strides in providing vocational skills training for the prisoners.
There are now three members of staff teaching brick and block work, painting and decorating, and carpentry and joinery, with a workshop coordinator overseeing workshop production. Another skilled carpenter will be appointed before the end of this year to work alongside the coordinator, running a work related skills workshop.
Three workshop areas have been set up for training and two production sheds erected. The investment made by the Prison has been considerable; especially when set against the extremely difficult financial circumstances that the Prison has found itself in. In addition, an Industrial Cleaning area has been set up and a member of staff has been trained to teach the British Institute of Cleaning Science courses. Other accredited vocational training courses are being planned for catering and horticulture, with staff currently being trained to deliver programmes.
Currently 54 prisoners are engaged on one day a week, tutor led, vocational training courses and 10 prisoners are developing their skills in construction projects, under the guidance of the workshop coordinator.
In order to make the training workshops and the work-related skills production areas fit for purpose, the Prison Learning and Skills Department is seeking additional help from the Skills Executive.
The costs shown have been estimated on the basis that as much of the work as possible will be done by the Prisoners ‘in-house’, under the direction of the Prison staff. They represent the Prison’s current shortfall to complete the existing training projects, all of which are completely new to the Prison and were initiated in the last year.
This submission is a request for two things:
- Firstly, specific financial assistance to enable existing learning and skills projects to become more effective; and,
- Secondly, for advice, support and guidance in developing links with local employers.
Whatever support is possible through Economic Development and the Skills Executive would be of enormous assistance to the Prison.
Production area
This is one of the new workshop areas that has had added to it an office and toilet and electrics for machinery.
This is for between 7 and 10 prisoners to work under the supervision of a skilled carpenter who will be engaged in work-related learning developing the skills that prisoners have learnt in the training workshop.
At present the area lacks a proper extraction and filtering system and has no heating. The aim is to utilise the workshop to develop prisoner skills through the manufacture and restoration of furniture, starting with garden furniture. The Prisoners will also be working on a variety of projects to make items for use throughout the Prison; including: shelving, boot racks and cell furniture as well as providing a service for completing general repairs
In order to enable the workshop to function properly as a skills centre and to make the building fit for purpose and secure, the following is needed:
Extraction system £17000
Heating system (using recycled oil) £7000
Cladding for walls with secure cabinets £2000
TOTAL £26000
Training Workshops
There are two small training workshops providing for the Vulnerable Persons Unit, the Young Offenders Institute and the Female Wing; one set up for carpentry and the other for painting and decorating.
Another larger workshop is located in a separate area and is used by the rest of the male population of the Prison. This workshop is divided into an area for carpentry and an area for painting and decorating. Three brick and block work areas are located in adjacent areas to the workshops. There are three skilled craftsmen employed to deliver accredited Open College courses and City and Guilds courses.
None of the workshops have been fitted with ventilation or heating:
- At present small, mobile extractors are used when necessary, but all the areas still need a fresh air in/out and heating.
- A wall mounted electric extractor/inlet in the two VPU workshops and two systems in the main workshop are required, along with wall mounted heaters, to make the areas fit for purpose.
A tented area is currently used on the main wing for brickwork:
- Some structural work is required around the tent to make the area water and wind proof, after which it will require lighting and an air blower heater.
Ventilation and Heating for 4 workshop areas (£7000x4) £28000
Fix door of tent and make watertight £3000
Electrics/lighting £2000
Heating (blower system) £7000
TOTAL £40000
Training Kitchen
Over the last 6 months the Prison has converted the Old Kitchen into three sections: for industrial cleaning training, art classes and cooking.
Like most of the developments on-going at the Prison, the conversion has had to be done incrementally and although the cleaning and art areas are completed the kitchen remains unfinished. All the units, waste disposal, plumbing and electrics in the kitchen are in but, at present there are insufficient funds for the 4 cookers and the ventilation system required.
Ventilation system £3500
4 Cookers at £350 each £1400
TOTAL £4900
ICT Initiative
The Prison has been working with a UK based company, ix Associates, to develop a secure IT infrastructure with a biometric login system that will allow controlled access to a range of virtual learning opportunities, including an intranet.
The aim is to extend the secure system in order to access a range of learning and skills over the internet. ix Associates have experience in installing UK Government secure systems at MI5 and in the Finance Sector. They also work closely with EU organisations: a Director of the Company is one of the authors of the European Data Protection Policy. They have business partners at Rathbones and are looking to establish a permanent office on the Island.
In order to implement the proposals outlined in the attached document the Prison needs to find £78000 to match the investment from ix Associates. This would enable the collaborative transfer of technology and expertise between Jersey and the European Union and could set up Jersey as a leader in the development of virtual learning in a secure environment.
TOTAL £78000
Staff training - Links with Highlands College
The Prison has the potential to develop skills training in horticulture, catering and sport: this has not been possible yet due to insufficient funds being available for staff training.
To assist those staff that are either on or may start skills training the Prison is paying for 15 members of staff to train on the PTLLS course – this takes place at Highlands during ‘lock-up’ on Wednesday mornings. There is no financial provision for this to go beyond this first stage of the FE teacher training.
A new Sports Hall and sports training area will open within the new residential wing in September 2009. The existing Sports Staff are only trained to Gym Instructor Level 2. To make it possible to teach/coach skills properly, and to address the vocational potential, it is essential to more fully train the staff.
Linking with Highlands and having a formal Service Level Agreement to encompass not only staff training but the provision of tutors in areas like sport and health and beauty, requires funding that is currently beyond the prison’s means. The Prison would like to seek via formal and informal means to explore with ESC, ways in which it can access training courses provided by Highlands and other suppliers, in a similar fashion to other states Departments and schools
TOTAL NIL: Requires a service agreement with ESC
Developing links with the local employers
The Prison is also keen to obtain assistance for ED/Jersey Enterprise with establishing strong links with local employers that could lead to the promotion and sharing of materials or advice and may lead to the opportunity for work placements for prisoners, either in the prison or on pre-release licenses.
Increased training provision and the existing skills of current prisoners mean that the Prison possess a pool of, potentially skilled labour, which with support and encouragement from relevant employers could allow prisoners the opportunity to more successfully assimilate back into society and help minimise the likelihood of residual offending
TOTAL Time costs
On behalf of the Prison, I would be grateful if the Skills Executive would give serious consideration towards supporting some or all of the above initiatives, in order that the momentum of investment already made is not diminished and that prisoners have the maximum opportunity to regain a productive place within the community
Your interest and time is greatly appreciated by all at the Prison.
Philip Anderson
Head of Learning and Skills
HMP La Moye
441886
p.anderson4@gov.je
gov.je