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HMP OAKWOOD

Strengthening Oakwood Family Ties Policy (S.O.F.T.)

Family Interventions Manager

Sandy Watson Date .

Director

John McLaughlin Date .

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Amendment RecordVersion Number

Date of Issue

Author(s) Brief Description of change(s)

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CONTENTS

PAGE

Contents page 3Strengthen Oakwood’s Family Ties 4About HMP Oakwood 5The way Forward 5Key standards 6Premise of family support 6Principles 7Information & Communication 8Partnerships 8Family Support Services 9Information access for families 10Family communication 10Special Programmes 10Community Support 11Statistics 11Appendix A 12Appendix B 15

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Background to the work of S.O.F.T. (Strengthening Oakwood’s Family Ties)

Evidence from the Social Exclusion Unit Report (2002) which became part of the foundation data for the creation of NOMS (pre HMPPS) proves that prisoners who are able to maintain healthy family ties whilst in prison are up to six times less likely to re-offend after release compared to those prisoners who do not.

Over half of those serving sentences lose contact with their families whilst in prison.

Each offender that re-offends costs the taxpayer more than £110.000

65% of boys with a father in prison will go on to offend themselves.

MOJ Resettlement survey 2008 - Prisoners who have meaningful family visits are 38% less likely to reoffend than those prisoners who do not receive visits.

The Justice Secretary commissioned Lord Farmer Review into family contact made 19 recommendations published and endorsed by the Prisons Minister in 2017.

HMIP Expectations published in 2017 made 46 specific measurable expectations for supporting family contact.

Lord Farmer Review: “I do want to hammer home a very simple principle of reform that needs to be a golden thread running through the prison system and the agencies that surround it. That principle is that relationships are fundamentally important if people are to change”

At HMP Oakwood we are committed to maintaining and developing family ties. Our goal, using the established evidence base and guidance from HMIP Expectations 2017 and the Lord Framer Review’s 19 recommendations, is to make these visits less oppressive, more child friendly and stimulating for all that attend whilst adhering to security protocols.

The aim of SOFT is to help parents build positive, healthy relationships free from conflict and maximise opportunities for children to maintain strong, safe and enduring relationships with both parents, by providing quality time with interactive activities for families, fathers and children to share together.

Engagement with family on these interventions strengthens the bonds, which in turn is a proven key causal factor in reducing the risk of re-offending and disrupting the likelihood of intergenerational offending.

Family Interventions are important to everyone impacted by incarceration, the prisoners, the partners, parents, siblings and, of course, the children. HMP Oakwood facilitates over 6000 domestic visitors a month, of that number around 2000 children.

HMP Oakwood is committed to develop new initiatives and support for those who do not have family or visits to help build or repair relationships or create new networks to get support during and after release.

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About HMP Oakwood

At HMP Oakwood we aim to inspire, motivate and guide prisoners to become the best they can be.

We offer state of the art facilities, full time employment, programmes and access to physical health

and wellbeing initiatives.

The prison, which is managed privately by G4S became operational on the 24th April 2012. It is

located next to the existing HMP Featherstone and HMP Brinsford near Wolverhampton. HMP

Oakwood will be one of the largest prisons in England and Wales, providing places for up to 2100

Category C male prisoners.

The Way Forward

Through the comprehensive SOFT provision we aim to impact upon 5 key areas :

1) Reduce the likelihood of the prisoner reoffending and returning to custody

2) Reduce the likelihood of intergenerational offending

3) Increase our commitment to working with families and acknowledge the role they play in helping to reduce offending behaviour

4) Increase the community inclusion for the family

5) Increase the opportunities for those who do not have visits to become involved in community events

HMP Oakwood recognises that children and families are hugely motivating factors that can influence behaviour change. HMP Oakwood is committed to working with families, community and voluntary sector partners in order to help Residents strengthen meaningful family contact throughout a period of imprisonment.

We want to strengthen the relationship between HMP Oakwood and families affected by imprisonment to ensure that both offender and family receive the best possible support during this difficult time.

We have Standards for Encouraging Strengthening Oakwood Family Ties, which details the minimum level of support that is now available in this establishment.

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These five key standards are:

Accesswe will offer opportunities for children and families to maintain contact with their relatives, this should include both in person and to include other formats for those who do not receive visits.

For example: StoryBook Dads (SBD): Residents have the opportunity to record books onto CD’s to send home to their children.

Communicationwe will provide information that is accessible and meets the needs of families. Consideration will be given, so that all information is available in different languages, and simple or pictorial terms.

Participationwe will actively encourage families to participate at key stages of a relative’s sentence, this should include prisoner’s achievements and course completion.

For example: The Education Department offers opportunities for families and friends to witness residents receive awards and achievements such as the Koestler Awards and the Open University.

RespectHMP Oakwood staff will treat every visitor as an individual, and with dignity and respect. HMP Oakwood staff are familiar with religious and cultural needs and promote diversity and equality.

For example: Prayer rooms are available in both the Family Pathway Centre and the Visiting Hall.

Safetywe will ensure families visiting a relative in prison do so in a safe and pleasant environment without compromising the security of the prison.

Premise of family support:

Assuring the wellbeing of families impacted by imprisonment is not only a moral obligation but a key part of creating and maintaining healthy communities.

Primary responsibility for the development and wellbeing of children lies within the family, and the prison has a professional responsibility to actively do all they can to support those children in a safe and appropriate manner.

Research proves that families of prisoners are empowered when they have access to information and other resources that support them to take action to improve the wellbeing of children, families and communities.

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Enabling families to build on their own strengths and capacities promotes the healthy development of children, with a view to avoiding the statistical probability of following parents into criminal behaviours and lifestyles.

HMP Oakwood encourages feedback about the services we activity seek opportunities for visitors to share their opinions to shape and improve HMP Oakwood’s vision. We hold a monthly visitor forum to give visitors the opportunity to express any concerns or recommendations. We hold a yearly survey for both visitors and residents on their experience of visiting.

Principles

HMP Oakwood recognises the important contribution that families make in supporting offenders during imprisonment to achieve effective rehabilitation and reduce re-offending; families are resources to their own members, to other families, to interventions and to communities.

HMP Oakwood is committed to supporting and developing innovative ways that healthy family ties can be established, maintained and enhanced whilst in a custodial setting, within the context of working towards safer, happier, and more integrated communities.

This principle will play an integral part in SOFT.

HMP Oakwood will:

Treat people with dignity, decency and respect.

Provide safe and secure visiting facilities and areas in which families and prisoners can engage with each other in order to foster and promote healthy relationships

Identify and promote opportunities for families to build and sustain meaningful relationships and be involved in key aspects of decision making/sentence plans were appropriate

Ensure that the needs of the child are paramount and robust Safeguarding/Child Protection policies are maintained and adhered to

We will work in partnership with appropriate organisations in the public, private and voluntary sector

We will oversee the provision of a Family Intervention Unit that embraces a Restorative Justice Philosophy ensuring that we are an integral part of the Resettlement and Rehabilitation process

We will comply with all relevant legislative and statutory requirements

We will ensure that prisoners and families have access to appropriate organisations

We will work closely with Offender Managers/Supervisors to ensure that a two way process of information promotes the HMPSS strategy of reducing re-offending and prison reform

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Information & Communication

HMP Oakwood will ensure that:

Accurate, relevant and timely information is provided to families at the point of committal to prison, during sentence and prior to release about prison life, resettlement / offender management process and maintaining family contact.

Families are invited / encouraged to participate in key aspects of the process of rehabilitation and resettlement where appropriate.

In times of family / personal crisis, additional requests for contact will be dealt with sensitively and appropriately, taking safeguarding measures into account.

Opportunities are provided for families to receive feedback on a resident’s progress during the period of imprisonment, where appropriate.

Efforts are made to assist families, who live a long way away or in a different country maintain contact with the person in prison.

Opportunities for children to communicate with parents in prison are provided and communicated to those in custody and families in the community.

Efforts are made to identify and develop strategies for those who do not receive visits.

We will engage and consult with families in relation to issues, problems or policies that have an impact on them or the prisoner.

We will throughout the year provide opportunities to both prisoners and family members, including children, to give feedback on the visiting experience and a range of other family interventions.

Partnerships

We will work with our partner agencies to streamline the range of family support services so that a seamless service is provided, and that it remains in tune with local and national strategy.

We will work with our partner agencies to identify the needs of children and young people who visit in prison and develop initiatives to support these relationships.

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We will communicate with internal departments to better coordinate services between resettlement teams, units, visits, custody and those who deliver programmes to share information and address the needs of the prisoner and his family

We will encourage better information sharing in relation to family issues between prison staff and external partners.

We will develop protocols between agencies to ensure that relevant agencies are informed when a main carer comes into prison.

We will work in partnership to develop visiting schemes and proxy support for isolated offenders; those without dependants and the families of sex offenders.

Standards

A family interventions team will be appointed and their roles / duties standardised.

Everyone, including volunteers and interns working within the SOFT department will have undergone operational or Non-operational training, and any additional training relating to the role.

Develop and maintain staff training that encourages individuals to value and respect families of offenders, to know their special needs, to protect offenders’ parental rights and the rights of the child and to remain up to date with the latest developments and recommendations.

Establishing partnerships and strategic alliances with organisations and community groups that share our values and where mutual benefit can be established and sustained.

Where appropriate all prisoners will undergo an induction programme that will include all relevant information on how to book visits, make phone contact with families, emailaprisoner.com, ‘Prison Voice Mail’ and other similar services.

Ensure family related needs are identified as early as possible in the sentence and information is conveyed to relevant parties, agencies systematically.

Ensure all new inductions have access to the new Welcome booklet for the Family Intervention Unit.

All volunteers will receive both G4S Volunteer and Non-operational training.

To maintain and develop Family Day Visits

A system of family support services.

Relationship building interventions.

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Parenting skills programmes for prisoners and family members

Assist in pre-release programmes as required preparing prisoners for family life.

Family services / crisis intervention, provided by public and private organizations who can assist with family problems and facilitate communication to prevent unnecessary stress and advocate problem resolution.

Provision for information access by families.

Family orientated approach to each stage of the custodial process that the prisoner may expect to encounter

Clear oral and written communication to families using plain words in a language understood by the family

To engage with the prisoners family, and inform them of changes in the prisoners status following his entry on to or exit off the Family Intervention Unit.

Easy access to HALOW and Visitor Centre support. Encouragement of family communication.

Provide for some free long distance calls to families that cannot visit: Foreign National protocol

Family visiting sessions

Supervised contact visiting in safe child-centred setting, working with social services as required.

A safe, secure and orderly environment that promotes low stress and meaningful interaction between the prisoners their children and their families.

Provide dedicated staff with on-going responsibility for the management of visits and those that visit.

Training for all staff linked to the visits group in the appropriate care and treatment of prisoners children.

Visitors information handbooks, updated on a regular basis

Support for transportation services

Special programmes for incarcerated parents and their children i.e.

Jolly Tots

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Scouts

Homework Club

The Nurturing Programme

The Solihull Approach

Partner Days

Kids Club

Young People’s Visits

Storybook Dads

Community Support

Local coordinating of agencies linking offender’s families with community services: eg Barnardo’s, HALOW

Advocates and signposting for families faced with discrimination.

Support from the religious community for families facing the spiritual crisis of a family member in custody

Initiatives which bring the needs and strengths of offenders’ families to the attention of the community, including interface with schools.

Information re Assisted Prison Visits Scheme.

Information, referral, advocacy, counselling, support groups, family networking and recreation services

Yearly Statistics

Statistics of visitors: during 2017 we had 65945 domestic visitors and 14155 (21.4%) were under the age of 18 years.

Breakdown of age of visitors: Out of the 65945 visitors processed the breakdown of ages were: 51790 (78%) over the age of 18 years old, 3837 (6%) were aged between 10 and 17 years of age, 4239 (7%) were aged between 5 and 9 years of age, 6079 (9%) were aged 4 and under.

Breakdown of Sex of visitors: out of the 65945 domestic visitors processed 26440 (40%) were male and 39505 (60%) were female.

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Partners, Charities and organizations:

Appendix A

Overview

The document sets out the Director’s Policy for Strengthening Oakwood’s Family Ties (S.O.F.T) at HMP Oakwood.

This policy gives a holistic approach to delivering support based on four key strands:

1. Families (including extended family members and significant others)2. Parenting (including step children, adopted)3. Children and Young People4. Child and Vulnerable Adults Protection

For the purpose of providing the appropriate support with family events, training and courses the Families should come under one of the following eight categories:

New-born (this is defined as any child under the age of 2 years old) Children (this is defined as any child between 2 and 12 years old) Teenagers (this is defined as any child between 13-17 years old) Partner (this includes wife, co-habitation, girlfriend and is regardless of sexual orientation. Parents Grand parents Family (this is defined as “immediate family” as stated in Public Protection 2.2) Extended family, Friends and significant others

Strengthening Oakwood’s Family Ties (S.O.F.T):

Below is a list of some of the ways that HMP Oakwood offers prisoners to keep in touch with their family and friends and ways that they can support prisoners strengthening their relationships while residing at HMP Oakwood.

Emailaprisoner.com

Visitors can email you direct, at the cost of only a 2nd class stamp, once the email is received at Oakwood an officer will print it off and hand it to you, also your visitor can pay the cost for you to send a letter back you have wrote via an email.

Secure payments.com

Visitors can send payments to you up to the value of £50 at a cost of only 50p, which cost less than the cost of a postal order and the funds will be in your prisoner account with-in minutes.

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Assisted Prison Visiting Unit (APVU)

Visitors can claim back up to two visits a month travel cost through APVU, terms and conditions apply, booklets and information is available in the Family Pathway Centre, on their website, or telephone number 0845

Prison visits

You can book a visit for your family and friends to come to see you from a wide range of times from weekends to weekdays, afternoons and evenings. You can book your visits via the Kiosk on your wing.

Storybook Dads

You can create a recording of your voice for your children, this will be made into a visual storybook DVD for your children to keep and watch as a bedtime story, or through the day. This is an amazing opportunity to give your children a keepsake to help them cope with you being away. If you want to know more contact the library.

VO’s to phone credit, and letters

Prisoners who do not use all of the Standard visiting orders can choose to convert them into extra phone credit or extra letters. This is subject to IEP status; this can be done through the visits department.

Foreign national phone credit and letters

Foreign national prisoners are entitled to convert their standard visiting orders to phone credit to make calls abroad or airmail letters. For more information, contact a member of safer custody.

Child Protection Policy

It is the responsibility of the HMP Oakwood to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to protect from harm and abuse those children and young people who visit or make contact with a prison and with offenders. Child protection is the responsibility of all who interact with children and families, regardless of whether that work brings them into direct contact with children and young people. HMP Oakwood has procedures which set out the roles and responsibilities for staff, including non-uniformed staff, working across the prison estate. The policy has been brought into line with the Government’s National Guidance and Child Protection Policy.

This policy is based on the following principles:

that the welfare of the child or young person is always paramount;

that all suspicions and allegations of abuse must be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately;

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that all the relevant staff will be:

1. able to recognise signs of potential abuse;

2. aware of their obligations to protect children and young people from harm and abuse; and 3. aware of the correct reporting procedures.

We have implemented our Child Protection Policy which is in line with the National Guidance on Child Protection in England and Wales. HMP Oakwood has a Designated Child Protection Co-ordinator, with several Designated Safeguarding Officers across the estate.

National Parenting Strategy Outcomes Policy

HMP Oakwood recognises that it has an active role to play in delivering parenting support to the residents in our care. 48% of residents who participated in the Prisoner Survey in 2011 said they were parents and the most recent information from analytical colleagues suggests around 250,000 children are affected by parental imprisonment.

Parenting Support across HMP Oakwood should achieve the following outcomes:

parents play an active role in strong, stable families;

parents gain a greater understanding of the value of being a parent and their role in the family unit;

parents have positive aspirations for their children;

parents gain a ‘toolbox of skills’ to allow them to develop positive relationships with their children;

parents have the confidence to ask for, and engage with, support services without the fear of stigma;

parents understand that maintaining positive relationships improves their child's health and wellbeing; and

parents enhance their literacy and skills through contextualised learning i.e. in activities that are not solely classroom based and delivered by the education provider.

HMP Oakwood is committed to working with Residents, their families, the community and partners in order to encourage and maintain meaningful family contact throughout a Resident’s time in custody. HMP Oakwood is leading the way providing parenting and relationship programmes for Residents from well-founded organisations and established programmes available both in custody and the community. These programmes will look at their own experience of being a child, their approach to relationships and being a parent, as well as the development of life skills and practical parenting skills.

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Appendix B: CONTEXT – POLICY AND LEGISLATION

The following policy, legislation and delivery plans are ‘cross-cutting’. This means there are implications and responsibilities associated for all the statutory sectors including social care, health, education and criminal justice.

Every Child Matters

The Every Child Matters: Change for Children Programme (1) is the policy framework, which aims to put in place a national framework to support the joining up of services so that every child can achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes:

• Be healthy• Stay safe• Enjoy and achieve• Make a positive contribution• Achieve economic well-being.

Three of the key elements of the national framework are:

• The duty to cooperate to promote the well-being of children and young people• The duty to arrange to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people• The development of statutory local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) to replace non-statutory area child protection committees (ACPCs).

Children’s trusts and children’s services both play a central role in trying to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable. A key measure of success will be achieving change through closing the gap between their outcomes and those of the majority of children and young people.

Children’s Act (2004)

The Children’s Act (2004) is a piece of legislation which transforms the proposals set out in Every Child Matters, creating clear accountability for children's services, to enable better joint working and to secure a better focus on safeguarding children. The Act provides for the establishment of a Children's Commissioner and supports better integrated planning, commissioning, and delivery of children's services. The Act places a duty on local authorities to make arrangements through which key agencies cooperate to improve the well-being of children and young people and widen services' powers to pool budgets.

Human Rights Act (1998)

Article 8 of the Human Rights Act states that “Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence” (4). The Act goes on to state that: “There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or

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the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others”.

While it would seem that being in prison inevitably results in interference in maintaining family ties, it could be argued that the rights of the child and family are being ignored if they are unable to have appropriate access. Several cases have been brought by prisoners to test such a theory.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

This states categorically that best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration (Article 3)(5), and that they have the right to be heard and have their views taken into consideration. Article 9 is particularly relevant and says that states shall ensure that children are not separated from their parents against their will. It goes on to say: “States’ parties shall respect the right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with bothParents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child's best interests” (9.3).

Therefore, it is clear that the right of the child entitles them to contact with an imprisoned parent, regardless of that imprisonment, if it is in the best interests of the child. This puts the onus on the state to ensure that this is achievable, although there is no case law to act as precedent yet.

CONTEXTS – DELIVERY FRAMEWORKS

Local safeguarding children boards

“The local children safeguarding board is the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in each local area will co-operate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in that locality, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do… .Whereas the children’s trust has a wider role in planning and delivery of services, their objectives are about coordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of what their member organisations do individually and together”. (6)

It is clear that children of prisoners require a coordinated response that involves developing the interface between and across a range of services and sectors. This is particularly the case for the criminal justice, social care and education sectors, and this report goes on to highlight examples where this level of cooperation has been achieved, albeit on a practice, rather than policy or strategic, level.

National Offender Management Service – the Children and Families Pathway

“Children and families can play a significant role in supporting an offender to make and sustain changes which reduce re-offending. Many offenders’ relationships are broken or fragmented as a result of their offending and their families are left bewildered and unsupported, increasing the likelihood of intergenerational offending, mental health and financial problems”. (6) The National Reducing Re-offending delivery plan is clear in the aim that children and families have a crucial role to play in reducing the risk of reoffending. To enable families to have this role and to enable them to visit prisons regularly, changes in the prison service will be required that move it towards a more child-centred and child-friendly reception. Several prisons have made these changes. However, the degree of change is dependent upon the individual prison governors. The result is inconsistency across prisons, which causes confusion for those visiting. If this policy was legislation rather than guidance there would be greater consistency across England and Wales.

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As part of the pathway, there are regional multi-agency ‘children, families and support network pathway boards’. These are composed of professionals from the statutory, voluntary and community sector that have a role to play in reducing re-offending. Some regions have had more success in developing this pathway than others. There is currently a pilot project underway in the West Midlands called Families Do Matter.

Legal framework

His policy has been drawn up on the basis of law and guidance that seeks to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults, namely:

The Children’s Act 1989 & 2004 The Human Rights Act 1998 The Untied Convention of the Rights of the Child 1991 The Protection of Children’s Act 1999 Sexual Offences Act 2003 Data Protection Act 1998 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 Protection of Freedom Act 2012 Children and Families Act 2014 The Police Act 1977 The Government’s Counter-terrorism strategy 2011 Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 Information sharing: Advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children,

young people, parents and carers: HM Government 2015 Working together to safeguarding children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and

promote the welfare of children: HM Government 2015

In addition to the above Act’s the documents Every Child Matters sets out a national framework for services for children and young people, and your Local Safeguarding Boards have polices for Forced Marriages, E-Safety etc.

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