National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance News | June 2017

The newsletter for arts organisations working in criminal justice

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In this month's issue...

National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance news
Events and training
Arts and criminal justice news
Resources & publications

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National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance news
National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance has received a funding offer to become part of Arts Council England's National Portfolio

We are very pleased to announce that the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance has been successful in securing a funding offer to become one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Sector Support Organisations.

Becoming an NPO will enable us to significantly increase our impact geographically and in terms of reaching more diverse participants and audiences. It will enable us to work with more of our members across the country and deliver an innovative work plan focused on developing new regional networks and enhancing professional development, and it will support us to be able to focus on driving up artistic quality consistently across our membership.

Alison Frater, Chair of the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance says: “This bid is recognition of the value of many specialist organisations and individuals working with people in the criminal justice system; with individuals, families, and with staff across all art forms with impressive results – inspiring participation, changing lives, reducing reoffending, and producing high quality art for all to enjoy.”

The NCJAA thanks outgoing Vice-Chair Katy Haigh and welcomes incoming Vice-Chair Andy Watson

"When I became Executive Director of national charity Good Vibrations in 2014, Clinks and the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) gave me a tremendous introduction to the criminal justice sector, and on joining the NCJAA's Steering Group, I was delighted to discover how proactive and engaged it was," says outgoing Vice-Chair Katy Haigh. "As Vice-Chair, something I have noticed - and been proud of - is the growing authority and presence that the NCJAA has with key decision makers. Shrinking resources, escalating problems in our prisons, and an unsettled policy landscape make it hard for experienced individuals and organisations in this sector to remain resilient, but as a membership, we are clear on the range and depth of the transformative effects the arts have on human beings. So, I urge all of you to maintain a belief and a focus on our collective potential to bring about much needed, positive reform. As I step down as Vice-Chair, I am excited about the charisma, intelligence and experience that new Vice-Chair Andy Watson will bring to this role."

We would very much like to thank Katy for her hard work as our Vice-Chair - we are incredibly grateful for your time and the knowledge and enthusiasm you brought to the role. We look forward to continuing to work with you. We would now like to welcome Andy Watson as our new Vice-Chair. Andy is the Artistic Director of Geese Theatre Company, where he devises theatre performances for using in criminal justice settings and develops creative projects with people in prisons, secure hospitals and in the community. Welcome, Andy.

New blog: collaboration makes a bigger noise - women, theatre and criminal justice

A new blog post sees Chair of the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance, Alison Frater, reflecting on Clean Break's recent event that focused on women in the criminal justice system. Alison writes: "Women are trapped to such an extent that rage is the - albeit unacceptable but - understandable response. There must be another way of compounding this level of injustice than merely incarcerating the victims of domestic violence... We can give creative voice to marginalised and socially exclude people by developing specialist arts organisations who can reach into diverse communities and ensure an inclusive focus for the arts." Click here to read the full post.

Want to include something in the next newsletter?

We will be sending out the next newsletter on Thursday 27th July. Please email kate.davey@clinks.org with any submissions by Tuesday 18th July.

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Events and training
Next steps for youth justice reform - education, rehabilitation and the Youth Court

11th July 2017 | London | £210 + VAT

This Westminster Legal Policy Forum event will consider options for policy following the response to Charlie Taylor's 'Review of the Youth Justice System,' which set out proposals to review governance frameworks and establish two new pilot secure schools. Sessions will focus on what more can be done to improve the outcomes of young offenders, with discussion on the commissioning of education and health in custody, the future role of custodial staff in rehabilitation, as well as the anticipated impact of the secure schools pilot on custodial provision in the youth estate. Click here for more information.

Common Cause workshop

19th July 2017 | Liverpool | Free

How do academics talk to black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) artists? How can BAME-led arts, cultural and heritage organisations make more mutually productive collaborations with universities? Common Cause is a programme which seeks to map, understand and improve collaborations between academics, BAME artists, organisations and communities. What makes such projects and working relationships work well or fail? What are the benefits and challenges to both parties? And what would enable more BAME artists and BAME-led organisations to access the rich research and development resources of their local, regional and national universities? This one day workshop will provide an open space to talk through experiences, concerns, risks and aspirations, as well as articulating the rich potential of such collaborations. Click here for more information and to book a place.

Creative arts therapies and arts in health: current training provisions and future challenges

7th September 2017 | Birmingham | £45

After a number of conferences on the differences and similarities between the practices of arts in health and arts therapies. This event will explore the differences in training between the two approaches. This conference is for a variety of people - from professionals working in the arts with clients who have a variety of needs, to those who are seeking to train in either of the two fields. It may also be of interest to commissioners who wish to buy in the services of facilitators in arts in health or arts therapies. Speakers include Professor Stephen Clift, Canterbury Christ Church University; Dr Angela Fenwick, Birmingham Centre for Arts Therapies; Tessa Watson, British Association for Music Therapy, and Symon Easton and Karen Creavin, Birmingham City Council. Click here for more information and to book.

Prisoner Learning Alliance conference and awards

14th September 2017 | Leicester | Free

The Prisoner Learning Alliance's annual conference will reflect back on Dame Sally Coates' Review of prison education one year on. Lots has changed and is proposed to change; the role of Governors in commissioning, the introduction of new OLASS funding streams, technology pilots, the introduction of 'Unlocked Graduate' prison officers and blossoming prison/university partnerships. The Prisoner Education Alliance has been at the forefront of shaping the prison education policy agenda and is now focused on ensuring positive impacts are felt in prisons and that good practice is shared effectively. Delegates will hear from a range of speakers including Governors, former prisoner learners and education providers. The day will include knowledge exchange workshops which will provide information on the innovative ways prisons are using the new 'engagement and progression' and 'enablers of learning' funding streams. Click here for more information and to book.

Where next for probation services in England and Wales?

7th November 2017 | London | £210 + VAT

This seminar will focus on the future of probation services in England and Wales. It aims to give delegates an opportunity to engage on the findings of HM Prisons and Probation Service's probation system review, which is expected to be published in the autumn, and will assess the future of the government's Transforming Rehabilitation framework. Sessions will focus on the options for reform, looking in particular at the performance of community rehabilitation companies (CRCs). The conference will bring together members of both the Houses of Parliament, senior government officials involved in this area of public policy, together with probation staff and CRCs, local government officials, services and outsourcing providers, charities, employers, training providers, health practitioners and service user networks, as well as academics and reporters. Click here for more information and to book.

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Arts and criminal justice news
Government announcements

On 8th June voters in the UK went to the polls in a snap general election. The Conservative party won 319 seats and has formed a minority government supported by the Democratic Unionist Party. Prime Minister Theresa May has announced David Lidington as Secretary of State for Justice, and Karen Bradley has remained Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. We look forward to working closely with the newly formed government and ministers.

Preparing for safer dance practice

Featuring learning tools that allow the user to apply principles to their own learning or working environment, this online programme from People Dancing, supports an effective and ideally injury free experience for all those who dance, whatever their age and experience. The course will help dance practitioners to minimise injury risk, prepare for and engage in dance activities in a safe, secure and hazard-free environment, and become familiar with country-specific laws and regulations - amongst other things. Click here for more information.

Funding for greater social impact

Big Potential, a Big Lottery Fund grant fund, will deliver approximately £20m of grant funding over three years to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations with the aim of improving their sustainability, capacity and scale in order that they may deliver greater social impact. Grants are available from £20k up to £150k. The deadline for applications is 11th October. Click here for more information.

Pride versus prejudice: TEDx video

Michael Brome, a prison officer at HMP Leicester, performed a powerful and provocative poem at a TEDx event organised by his local community. Michael has been a prison officer for 13 years, working in several areas and within different teams. He is also a spoken word artist, mentor and workshop facilitator and has performed widely in this capacity. In 2007 he was a contributing artist on the Freedom Showcase spoken word show for the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade cultural series. Watch the video of Michael performing here.

The Chris Johnston Memorial Fund

Chris Johnston was a co-founder and co-director of Rideout between 1999 and 2017. Before he passed away in January 2017, he was a passionate exponent of theatre and social justice, with a particular interest in the development of programmes within, and about, criminal justice. The Chris Johnston Memorial Fund aims to celebrate Chris' life by furthering the professional development of graduate theatre practitioners who share similar interests to those of Chris and Rideout. The fund will be open to applications for a limited time period, once per year. In view of this, Rideout's co-founder Saul Hewish is raising money to support this endeavour by doing a sponsored walk to all the prisons in Staffordshire where he and Chris did much of their work. As part of the walk, Saul will be sharing stories of arts projects in the prisons. Click here to find out more about the Chris Johnston Memorial Fund and to donate to Saul's JustGiving campaign.

Coates: one year on

Nina Champion from Prisoners' Education Trust, has blogged about the progress made in prison education since Dame Sally Coates' 'Unlocking Potential' report. In the blog, Nina looks at new funding streams, the impact of the shifting political landscape on reform prisons, and the future use of technology in this area. Click here to read Nina' blog.

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Resources & publications
Criminal justice statistics quarterly

The Office for National Statistics and the Ministry of Justice have published criminal justice statistics for 2016. It found that the total number of people dealt with individually by the criminal justice system is at a record low, but the overall custody rate had increased with first time offenders more likely to be convicted than cautioned. Click here to read the report.

Arts in health: designing and researching interventions

This new book by Daisy Fancourt provides an overview of how to undertake research and practice in the field of arts and health. Part one explores the context for arts in health interventions, including the history of the use of arts in health and the theoretical and political developments that have laid the foundations for its flourishing. Part two examines how to design an arts in healthcare intervention, develop partnerships and find funding and considers the sensitivities around working in healthcare. Part three considers the value of research for the field of arts in health and how to design and undertake a research project, and part four provides a fact file of arts in health research and practice, showing how the arts can be applied and the benefits they can bring across a range of medical disciplines. Click here to find out more.

This newsletter is written monthly by Kate Davey.

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Clinks manages the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance and is the legally accountable body for all official National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance activity. Clinks is a registered charity registration no 1074546 and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales no 3562176