The latest news from the South West
Welcome to a Clinks' newsflash for the South West of England, an occasional round up of the latest news, events and opportunities for Light Lunch readers working in the South West. If you’d prefer not to receive South West-specific newsflashes from Clinks, please do let us know. If you have other colleagues who are based in the region who might like to receive these newsflashes, please email Clinks’ South West Development Officer Isabel.livingstone@clinks.org
This edition includes details of our upcoming criminal justice forum in Plymouth and news of a probation inspection.
CLINKS EVENT: taking the temperature of the voluntary sector
Clinks is holding regional criminal justice forums [September 20th, Newcastle | September 27th, Preston | October 5th, Plymouth | from £15] to provide an opportunity for members to keep up to speed on new developments in criminal justice. These events allow you to step back from your crucial day-to-day frontline work to see the bigger picture and context in which you are working. The forums will give local and regional organisations the opportunity to hear the latest national developments in criminal justice, and also use their experience to inform Clinks’ national policy work. We do not want cost to be a barrier to our members so please email events@clinks.org if costs are prohibitive. Find out more here
CLINKS BLOG: putting prisoners at the heart of services
In this guest blog Amanda Sherriff from EDP shares five ways she has put service user engagement at the heart of her work at HMP Dartmoor. Amanda is the Voluntary Sector Co-ordinator for Clinks’ Good Prison Project at HMP Dartmoor and HMP Exeter. She writes: 'I am very passionate about service user involvement, so I wanted to ensure my role in promoting and enabling access to the voluntary sector was shaped by the prisoners themselves'. Read the blog here
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Gloucestershire probation inspection
Gloucestershire is the first of the South West probation areas to be inspected by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation since the implementation of Transforming Rehabilitation. The inspection report in August said that ‘overall the National Probation Service was managing high risk offenders well, but the service provided by the private Community Rehabilitation Company is simply not being delivered well enough in a sufficient number of cases.’ Read the report here
CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: impact of cycling
Life Cycle in Bristol has released its impact report 2016-2017. The report shows what its community cycling projects have achieved. It includes an update on Life Cycle's work at HMP Bristol teaching bike mechanics to prisoners. Lukas, who found himself in prison aged 61, says “Being in the bike workshop is the best medicine. You don’t think about your problems as you are concentrating on your work. I know if I’ve done a good job or not. (You) go back to the cell and think about whether the bolt was too tight / not tight enough… In prison you have no control over what happens to you, but in (the workshop) you feel more like a human being.” Find out more here
NON-MEMBERS’ EVENTS:
- Plymouth Offender Services Meeting | 14th September, Plymouth, free | Email mike.taylor@pathdevon.org
- Safer Stronger Cornwall meeting (members only) | 20th September, Truro, free | Details
- Universal credit for professionals and frontline workers | 22nd September, Plymouth, free | Details
- Forgiveness Discovery Roadshow | 24th September, Falmouth, from £55 | Details
- Gloucestershire Stronger, Safer Communities Forum | 8th November, Tewkesbury, free | Details
- VCS Criminal Justice Forum for Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole | quarterly, free | Details
CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES IN THE SOUTH WEST
Vacancies include a Female Case Manager / Accommodation Support Worker with Nelson Trust [HMP Eastwood Park/Somerset], Recovery Support Worker with Nelson Trust [Stroud], Chair (voluntary) at Prisoner Learning Alliance [homebased with travel to London], and Volunteer Distance Learning Tutor with Criminon [homebased]. To browse all members' vacancies click here
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Do you have news to share? Email Isabel.livingstone@clinks.org
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