Prisoner Participation in Open and Training Prisons

ANNEXES /
Prisoner participation in open and training prisons /
A toolkit for prison staff /
These annexes should be used in conjunction with the accompanying toolkit for prison staff. They are editable to suit the individual requirements of open and training prisons, as well as other custodial settings. /

Annex I: Prisoner representative role vacancy

[Prisoner participation scheme]

We are looking for people to represent the views of prisoners …

And make POSITIVE CHANGE to the prison!

Are you:

Organised?
Punctual?
Sociable?
Driven?

If you are able to commit one day a week of your time, we would like to hear from you!

For more information and how to apply please talk to [insert prison staff lead name here]

Annex II: Launch advertisement

We’re launching [insert scheme name] this week

To find out what it’s all about talk to [insert staff representative] or come along to [insert place] between [insert dates].

Annex III: Prisoner participant application form

[Insert model name]– prisoner participantapplication form

Please return the completed form to [insert prison staff lead name here]

If you need help filling this form in, please contact [enter name]

Personal details
First Name(s): / Surname: / Prisoner number:
Why do you want to be a prisoner participant?
What three skills or qualities would you bring?
What would you change about the prison and why?
How long have you got left to serve?
Do you have a disability you want us to take into account? / Yes/No
If yes, please provide details:

Annex IV: Suggestions for interview questions for prisoner roles

Why is prisoner participation important to you?

Why do you want to be a prisoner participant?

How would you describe your relationships with other prisoners?

How would you describe your relationships with prison staff?

What skills would you bring to the [insert scheme name]?

Can you give an example of when youachieved something good?

What challenges do you think you will experience as a prisoner participant and how will you deal with them?

Can you commit to one day per week?

What other commitments do you have inside the prison?

What other commitments do you have outside the prison such as ROTL or a community sentence?

Do you have any questions for us?

Is there anything else you think we should know or anything else you want to tell us to support your application?

Annex V: Prison services baseline opinion survey

What services at this prison are good and why?

......

What prison services would you change and why?

......

What services are missing from this prison?

……………………………………......

Are you interested in getting more involved and having a say about how the prison runs your services? Please tick an area that interests you.

□ Being a [insert scheme name] prison participant

□ Being part of meetings to discuss problems

□ Discussing your ideas to make services better

□ Training as a mentor to support other prisoners

□ Training to help the prison get feedback about services from other prisoners

□ Other, please state

Do you have any other comments about the prison?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......

Your name, if you’re interested in getting involved: ……………………………………………………………..

Thank you for your time!

Annex VI: Staff baseline survey of prisoner participation

Are you aware of what prisoner participation is? YES/NO

If yes, what does it mean to you?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Do you think prisoner participation is important? YES/NO

Please give an explanation for your answer

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Do you feel that your prison encourages prisoners to have a say about the issues/services that affect them? YES/NO

Please give an explanation for your answer

4. Does your prison have a prisoner participation initiative? YES/NO

If yes, how is it structured?

5. If yes to Q4, how useful is the initiative in dealing with prisoner issues?

 Not useful at all Of some use  Mainly useful  Extremely useful

 Don’t know what they do

Please give an explanation for your answer

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

6. Have you encouraged prisoners to speak to prisoner participation representatives? YES/NO

Please give an explanation for your answer

7. What kind of advantages do you feel the [insert scheme name] can provide for prison staff? (tick as many as apply)

Creating better relationships between prisoners and staff

Saving staff members time by not having to explain certain procedures

Creating more cooperation and harmony in the prison

Helping prisoners to develop personally

Helping to cut complaints

Helping the prison become more efficient

Helping the prison be prisoner focused

No or few advantages (please explain your answer)

Other, please state ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8. Would like to attend prisoner participation meetings to communicate with the general prison population? YES/NO

Please explain why ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. If you have an initiative, how do prisoner participants usually conduct themselves in their role? (Please rate on scale 1 – 5, 1 = strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree)

12345Professional and respectful

12345Organised and informed

12345Cooperative and understanding

12345Affect real change in the prison

12345Sensitive to needs of staff and prisoners

12345Have the right amount of influence with senior staff

12345Do not contradict or undermine prison staff

12345Culturally aware and non-discriminatory approach

Please use this space for any other comments about prisoner participation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thank you for your time!

Annex VII: Monitoring the performance of the prisoner participation scheme

Do you know what the prisoner participation scheme is?YES/NO

Do you know what it does? YES/NO

If yes, please explain

How did you hear about the [insert scheme name]?

Staff PrisonersMemberPoster/leaflet Other

If other, please state

Have you ever spoken to the [insert scheme name]for advice or to raise any issues? YES/NO

5. Was the matter dealt with in a way that you were happy with? YES/NO

If no, please tell us why ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………

Would you recommend the [insert scheme name]to others who may need advice/support? YES/NO

Please give us your reasons ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Have you ever applied to be a member of the [insert scheme name]? YES/NO

If yes, what was the outcome?

I’m on a waiting list I changed my mind I used to be a member but left

If no, would you consider joining the [insert scheme name] in the future? YES/NO

If yes, why? (tick as many as apply)

To develop my skillsTo help support others Try to make a change in the prison Other, please state

If no, why? (tick as many as apply)

Not interestedNearing the end of my sentence

Other things/lack of timeI was refused membership/not suitable Not sure how to Don’t have the right skills

Other, please state

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......

If you were to be offered training to be on the [insert scheme name], what training would encourage you to apply?

Communication skills How to deal with a range of people

Confidence building How to influence decisions

Peer mentoring skills Other, please state

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What (else) do you think would make you or others want to join the [insert scheme name]?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Do you have any other comments about the [insert scheme name]?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thanks for you time!

Annex VIII: Monitoring prisoner participants

Why did you choose to join the[insert scheme name]?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

How long have you been a member of the [insert scheme name]?

 Less than 3 months  3 – 6 months 6 – 12 months

 More than 12 months

Have you received any training since joining the [insert scheme name]? YES/NO

If yes, what type?

Do you feel you need any (further) training for your role? YES/NO

If yes, what?

Would you recommend other prisoners become participants? YES/NO

If no, why?

During a typical week how much time do you spend on your[insert scheme name]duties?

Have you been given ROTL? YES/NO

If yes, how often, for how long and for what purpose?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

As a member of the[insert scheme name]do you think that prison staff should attend your meetings? (tick as many as apply)

 No, I prefer prisoner only meetings with the executive committee giving feedback to staff

 Yes, but only some of the time

 Yes, all prison staff should attend regularly

 Yes, with senior management/governors

 Yes, with prison officers

9. How long is your current sentence and how long have you got to serve?

10. What do you enjoy most about being a member of the [insert scheme name]?

11. What do you like least about being in the [insert scheme name]?

Any other comments about the[insert scheme name]?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thank you for your feedback!

Annex IX: Prisoner participation newsletter guidance

Getting organised

Before launching your newsletter, it’s a good idea to deal with any issues that could cause delays or problems later on. If you’ve thought about everything on this list, your newsletter is much more likely to be a success.

Who will take the lead on producing the newsletter?
Who will read the newsletter?
How will you get information from prisoners to go into the newsletter?
How often will the newsletter be published? For example, monthly, every three months etc.?
How many hours a week will you need to do it?

What will go in it?

There are many different things that can go into a newsletter. Here are some suggestions to get started:

Personal stories and achievements
Interviews with prisoners, staff and other people

Poems, short stories, creative writing, opinion pieces or photographs
Achievements of the model or individual prisoner participants

Some writing tips

We’ve all read things that send us to sleep. To make sure your newsletter is something that other people notice and want to read, there are a few simple things you can do that make a big difference.

Be concise. Use short sentences.
Write clearly. Use plain English that is easy to understand. Don’t use jargon which other people might not understand.
Think about who you are writing for. What interests them? How much do they already know about what you are writing?
Write in a positive way. Even if you are writing about something which needs to be made better or done differently in the prison, write it in a positive way and don’t use language that may be seen as aggressive or wind others up.

Talking about the [insert scheme name]

Every newsletter should reflect what the [insert scheme name] is trying to achieve, so it’s important that everyone knows what the [insert scheme name]stands for (for example, its mission).

Using images - consent forms

Many prisoners do not want to be photographed or may only be happy for their photograph to be used for a specific purpose. They may be comfortable with their photo appearing in an internal newsletter, for example, but not with it appearing in a leaflet or video.

If you are using a prisoner’s photo, you must let them know why you want to use their photo and what you’ll be using it for (a newsletter, for example), who might look at the photo and how long it will be kept. Get them to sign a consent form to avoid any confusion. If the reason for using their photo changes from what they originally agreed to, then you’ll need to ask them for their consent again. A consent form needs to be signed if the person(s) in the picture is the main person in the image and easily identifiable.

Annex X: Prisoner complaints and suggestion form

This form can be used to gather suggestions for improvements from prisoners. You could use it in a format where it is handed in to prisoner representatives or dropped into a confidential complaints and suggestions box.

What would you like to change in the prison and why?
What is your idea for change?
How could it make the service better and benefit you?
How will your idea work (optional)?

Please note: This form is being used to get your ideas on how you believe that the [insert model] can work to support prisoners.

Take this form to the Chair [insert name], Secretary [insert name] or place it in the confidential box located in [insert place].

Thank you for your contribution!

No / Department / Complaint/issue / Action to be completed by / Summary if action taken. If failed, passed to Executive / Date passed / Leading orderly
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Annex XI: Complaints/issues and action taken log