We congratulate the new prisons minister, James Timpson OBE, on his welcome appointment. As someone with a deep understanding of prisons, and what it takes to set people up for success on release, we look forward to working with him to help tackle three of the most urgent issues in his in-tray – the three R’s:
Retention
Rehabilitative Cultures
Reducing Reoffending
Retention
The Prison Governors’ Association has warned that within days of the new government coming into power, prisons will reach full capacity, putting extra pressure on prison staff. We know one in seven prison officers resigned during the 12 months to September 2022 and more than a quarter of new staff leave after less than a year in post.
One practical solution is to offer one-to-one coaching, as part of a wider staff retention strategy. Coaching has been linked to reduced stress and anxiety, the ability to think positively about the future and improved self-confidence. Coaching has also been shown to help staff feel more valued and boosts motivation.
Around a third of prison officers have less than 3 years’ experience and new recruits may require additional support to become effective officers. HMPPS has identified coaching as a ‘proven successful, popular and impactful learning method’. Prison staff receiving Spark Inside coaching have reported that they feel more positive, more confident and recognise the value of their role.
James Timpson OBE knows only too well that happier staff makes a more productive and loyal workforce, as he has said ‘It’s about understanding what you need to give to your colleagues to get the best out of them.’ As the new Government commits resources to recruitment, giving staff access to evidence-based support and development, such as coaching, will build on this investment to ensure they have sustainable and rewarding careers in the prison service.
“This has all translated into me being better at my job also, which is so important when working in a stressful environment.”
Prison officer coaching participant
Rehabilitative Cultures
As overcrowding increases, prison environments can become more chaotic, with increased levels of trauma, ill-health, and violence. This can be exacerbated by stress, frustration, poor conflict resolution skills, lack of respect, high use of force, boredom and bullying. As the new government’s manifesto outlined (p.71), this can increase the likelihood of reoffending, rather than supporting rehabilitation.
To give individuals the best chance of success, we need rehabilitative cultures, helping prisons become safe, decent and supportive of change and progression. HMPPS highlighted that coaching can help improve perspective-taking and problem-solving, leading to more respectful relationships. From our experience of over more than a decade providing coaching and coaching skills in prisons, we know we need to drive culture change because the environment impacts the outcomes.
Our Spark Inside systems coaching programme The Conversation®, is designed to enhance relationships, improve empathy, and support sustained, positive cultural change on prison wings. Through a facilitated systems coaching process, the programme supports people to build powerful listening and challenging skills that create understanding and moves conversations forward. An independent evaluation showed that staff/prisoner relationships and prison officers’ empathy improved significantly and prisoners’ behaviour improved by 81%.
As the new prisons minister has said about his own business ‘It’s about understanding the values and the culture [..] you need the consistency of culture to make a transformation work’. As the new government looks to reduce violence and improve the culture of prisons, investing in evidence-based programmes (like The Conversation®) will be key to keeping people who live and work in prisons safe, and supporting engagement in positive, rehabilitative activities.
“It was nice to have people looking at things from a different perspective — rather than ‘us versus them’. It’s given us common ground. I think everyone got something from that. Prisoners could understand where we come from, and how our day is so time-bound. It was about staff understanding people’s frustrations, rather than just dismissing them.”
Prison officer participant in The Conversation
Reducing Reoffending
As the new government’s manifesto highlights (p.71), ‘prison leavers are more likely to re-offend if they do not have the tools to move away from crime.’ This is particularly the case for young adults, who spend less time out of their cells accessing education and/or employment. They often arrive in custody disillusioned and disempowered. HMI Prisons have said that ‘if action is not taken, outcomes for this group and society will remain poor for the next decade and beyond.’
Coaching is a powerful tool empowering people to find their own solutions to the problems they face and focuses on the present and future. The isolation and institutionalisation of prison life often enhances the feeling of being ‘done to’, but coaching helps young adults develop a sense of responsibility, independence and control over their own lives.
HMPPS identifies coaching as providing a ‘set of tools and methods that enable individuals to change harmful behaviours, negative beliefs, identify a sense of purpose and direction, and develop and achieve goals.’ They highlight that coaching is a valuable tool in supporting desistance, acting as a catalyst for participation in other interventions such as education, training, and employment, setting them up for success when they leave.
James Timpson OBE has commented that he doesn’t recruit men under 25 coming out of prison in his business, due to a lack of maturity. Currently fewer than half of young adults report that their custodial sentence has made them less likely to reoffend, but as HMPPS acknowledge, this critical time of brain development and transition into adulthood means the right interventions can have a significant impact. As he looks for ways to reduce reoffending, we encourage the new prisons minister to focus efforts on practical ways to support young adult’s developing maturity and sense of agency, so they are ready for release and future employment. Evidence-based programmes like Spark Inside’s Hero’s Journey or Black Hero’s Journey, can be an important way to find hope, build on individual strengths and interests and make meaningful plans for a positive future away from crime.
“When you feel like no one is listening to you and no one cares you start to resent the world, but the Spark Inside coaches made me feel heard and understood and helped me see the world in a different light.”
Young adult
Conclusion
Coaching can provide pragmatic solutions to the three biggest issues in the new prison minister’s in-tray, helping with staff retention, rehabilitative cultures and reducing reoffending.
We have already transformed the lives of over 1500 people living and working in our prisons. Our new strategy sets out our plan to reach even more young people, with the greatest need and greatest potential, in the most challenging of environments, as well as driving culture change in our prisons.
Once again, we congratulate the new prisons minister on their appointment and look forward to meeting with them to discuss these practical ways forward.
