In this issue....
- CLINKS NEWS: recruiting a Voluntary Sector Co-ordinator
- CLINKS NEWS: Stronger Voice expert seminars
- CLINKS NEWS: RR3 meeting minutes have been published
- CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: women’s experiences of long-term imprisonment
- CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: the Arthur Koestler story
- FUNDING: Provision of Community Accommodation Services Tier 3
- CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: My Journey App information and launch
- CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING: working with children who set fires
- CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING: The training provided by Society Matters cic
- NON-MEMBER’S EVENT: embedding restorative approaches within the police
- PUBLICATION: the impact of music on children
- OPPORTUNITY: Advisory Panel for Probation Learning (APPL) panel members
- CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES:
- READS OF THE WEEK:
- EXTRA INFORMATION:
CLINKS NEWS: recruiting a Voluntary Sector Co-ordinator
In 2016 Clinks developed the Good Prison Project pilot in three prisons in South West England following discussions with a range of stakeholders and voluntary sector providers which emphasised the need to better enable voluntary sector support and co-ordination in prisons, ensuring people in prison have access to the services they need.
Following the success of this project and further discussions with HMP Isis, we have been successful in securing three-year funding for a part-time (0.6 full-time equivalent) Voluntary Sector Co-ordinator role within HMP Isis, London. Learn more and apply here by [9:00 on 20 March]
CLINKS NEWS: Stronger Voice expert seminars
Clinks are hosting a series of Stronger Voice expert seminars and a communications coffee morning in February and March. You can now sign up to catch the last in our expert seminar series: "Influencing officials" [21 February, 14:00 - 15:00, free].
We will hear from Stephen O’Connor; Deputy Director of Probation Policy at the Ministry of Justice, and Anna Lacey; Deputy Director Female Offenders and Health Policy at the Ministry of Justice to discuss their respective roles and explore the ways in which voluntary organisations can build and make the most of relationships with government officials. The seminar will be chaired by Anne Fox; Clinks’ Chief Executive Officer. Find out more about the Stronger Voice expert seminars on our events page or via our socials on Twitter & LinkedIn.
CLINKS NEWS: RR3 meeting minutes have been published
These notes summarise discussions held in the quarterly meeting of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) that were held in March, June, and December 2022. You can find our what has been happening by reading the notes here.
CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: women’s experiences of long-term imprisonment
The Prison Reform Trust has published a new briefing ‘Invisible Women: Understanding women’s experiences of long-term imprisonment – Briefing 2: Hope, health, and staff-prisoner relationships’.
This is the second briefing in the ‘Invisible Women’ series, and puts a spotlight on hope, health and staff-prisoner relationships for long sentenced women. The series is part of the Prison Reform Trust’s Building Futures programme, a five-year project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
This briefing has been produced in collaboration with women serving eight or more years in custody, in three women’s prisons. It aims to amplify the voices of women serving very long sentences, in order to advocate for more holistic, gender-specific, trauma informed approaches to the long-term imprisonment of women. Read the briefing here.
CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: the Arthur Koestler story
Arkbound Foundation are pleased to share the Arthur Koestler Story. Arthur Koestler was an iconic person; as a political WW2 prisoner he narrowly escaped getting executed, and his lived experience provided a foundation for his work supporting prisoners and lobbying for prison reforms. Follow this link to learn more.
FUNDING: Provision of Community Accommodation Services Tier 3
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is looking to retender the Community Accommodation Services Tier 3 (CAS3) in four regions in 2024, [East of England, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, Kent, Surrey and Sussex]. Find our more about the retender here. You can register here to attend the online market engagement event which will be held on [9 March, online, free].
CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: My Journey App information and launch
Include Hub are having a launch event [28 February, 10:00 – 15:00, Swansea University, free]. The “My Journey App”, is a digital Platform developed in collaboration between Swansea University and Include.
The app is underpinned by evidence-based research that is shown to reduce re-offending. Co-developed with practitioners and people in the criminal justice system to ensure a user-friendly and fit-for-purpose result, My Journey seeks to give people more agency and voice in their journey to desistance whilst reducing the barriers that make it difficult for people to desist from crime.
If you would like to come along and find out more, follow this link.
CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING: working with children who set fires
As many as one in three children in the community have set fires and this often complex problem causes significant amounts of physical and emotional harm each year. Yet child firesetting remains one of the most misunderstood and ignored risk behaviours. This five-day, CPD-accredited foundation course [21, 23, 27, 29 and 31 March, online, £595 +VAT per delegate, inclusive of signed CPD certificates and course books] provides the theoretical knowledge and practical tools to work directly with children and teenagers who set fires. Using evidence-based research and direct work strategies throughout, the course equips attendees with the understanding and practical skills to help address this behaviour. The course is delivered by criminologist, supervisor, author and frontline practitioner Joanna Foster, whose work has featured in the Financial Times and the BBC2 documentary The Kids Who Play with Fire. For more information and to book, contact info@fabtic.co.uk.
CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING: The training provided by Society Matters cic
Introduction to Welfare Benefits [9 March, 9:00 - 13:30, online, £45.00 +VAT] Since the introduction of Universal Credit and PIP in 2013 with the objective of simplifying the welfare state, there are still multiple ‘legacy’ benefits that are being claimed by millions of people. This short course (CPD Accredited) provides newcomers to welfare benefits with an overview of 16 welfare benefits that are currently being claimed in the UK. Book here.
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for Children [13 March 2023 9:00 - 14:00, online, £49.50] This four hour CPD Accredited training course is delivered through a highly interactive online session, and is particularly geared to professionals who are working with families that may need to make a claim, but aren’t sure where to start.
By having a detailed understanding of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children you and your team can reduce the pressure on parents and health professionals trying to tackle the 40-page application form and improve the likelihood of them making a successful claim. Book here.
Financial Fitness [14 March, 09:00 - 16:00, online, £59.50] This highly interactive series of Financial Fitness workshops (CPD Accredited) is designed to help you get your money in shape. If you are struggling to make ends meet, or you think you would benefit from a fresh look at your finances, these workshops are tailor-made for you. If it’s not for you personally, but you’re looking for a way to help your customers, your employees or members of your community to get in control of their budgets and feel more positive about money, this Financial Fitness workshop series is ideal. Book here.
Universal Credit [15th March 09:00 - 14:00, online, £59.50] This highly interactive, CPD quality accredited Universal Credit training course has been designed to help support organisations involved in all aspects of social welfare to get to grips with Universal Credit. Book here.
Challenging Decisions [22 March, 9:00 - 14:00, online, £59.50] The process of claiming benefits is not always an easy one, and sadly not everyone is given the award they deserve. Records show that 1 in 4 PIP (Personal Independence Payments) decisions go unchallenged due to the stress of the process. Since March 2022, we have seen a rise in Sanctions in the UK with 93,000 claimants having their benefits sanctioned according to DWP statistics. This is why it is so important that claimants understand the process of challenging a decision. Book her.
Advanced Universal Credit [28 March, 09:00 - 15:00, online, £59.50] Maintaining a Universal Credit claim can also be a challenge especially if you suffer from addiction, are a mixed age couple or have just got out of prison. This CPD Accredited course demonstrates how to support people with complex needs on Universal Credit. Our advanced Universal Credit Course deep dives into the more technical aspects of the welfare benefit. Book here.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) [30 March, 9:00 - 14:00, online, £59.50] This course is CPD Accredited. Only about 14% of initial Personal Independence Payment (PIP) applications are successful first time round, and 1 in 4 people with a long-term health condition or disability are believed to give up on their PIP application due to a lack of support or because the application process has made them feel worse. Book here.
Get to Grips with Universal Credit [5 April, 9:00 - 15:00, online, £59.50] Trainees will receive a CPD Certificate following course completion. This highly interactive, quality accredited Universal Credit training course has been designed to help support organisations involved in all aspects of social welfare to get to grips with Universal Credit. Book here.
NON-MEMBER’S EVENT: embedding restorative approaches within the police
What practical next steps can be taken to move towards greater use and embedding of restorative approaches within the police force in the UK? In light of recent high profile cases of police misconduct, how can the police force respond restoratively?
Join the Mint House - Oxford Centre for Restorative Practice [16 March, 12:00 – 13:00, online, variable ticket prices from free-£10] as they explore the use of restorative approaches to improve external police relations (e.g. between police and the community) and internal police relations (e.g. grievances, team dynamics). Book your place here
PUBLICATION: the impact of music on children
The Institute for Community Research and Development has published new findings on the the impact of music on children at risk of contact with the criminal justice system. Working with Birmingham Children's Trust, the research team found significant improvements in children's engagement with education, musical ability and well-being. The findings build on previous research in schools and youth justice settings by presenting evidence on the impact of a music programme on the educational engagement and wellbeing of children identified as at-risk of offending, vulnerable or disengaged.
Follow this link to the paper. E-mail icrd@wlv.ac.uk if you are unable to access the full-text but would like a copy of the paper.
OPPORTUNITY: Advisory Panel for Probation Learning (APPL) panel members
The APPL are seeking expressions of interest for three new panel members (a Learning and Development professional, a Judiciary professional, and a Youth Justice professional) to join the Advisory Panel for Probation Learning (APPL) chaired by the Chief Probation Officer. The APPL is an expert panel sponsored by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The aim of APPL is to act as a critical friend and consultative group for the Probation Service to seek advice and input on Learning and Development for Probation and open the probation profession to new opinions and challenge on our ways of working.
The current panel members consist of external experts, academics, members of the Criminal Justice system and those with lived experience of the probation service. Learn more and apply here.
CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES:
Engager Worker with Imagine Independence [£22,124, Liverpool, full time]; Behaviour Support Coordinator with Seetec [£20,971 - £24,801, Base location flexible, full time]; Female Service Manager with Anawim [£31,907 - £34,367, Balsall Heath, full time]; Housing Interventions Worker (South Wales - 21 hours per week) with The Forward Trust [£26,339, Cardiff, Glamorgan, part time]; Housing Interventions Worker (Maternity Cover - 9 Months FTC) with The Forward Trust [£26,339, Cardiff; full time]; Housing Interventions Worker with The Forward Trust [£26,339, Dyfed Powys, full time]; Minerva Community Keyworker with ADVANCE (Advocacy and Non-Violence Community Education) [£26,000 - £31,000, Hammersmith, with frequent travel to Ealing, full time]; Housing Interventions Worker with The Forward Trust [£26,339, Gwent, full time]; Trainer Assessor with St Giles Trust [£25,500 - £28,500, Leeds Media Centre with some travel and remote working, full time]
For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here
READS OF THE WEEK:
- Charity announces £211,000 part time chief inclusion officer role
- Women criticise police for 'victim blaming' whilst sharing experiences of menopause
- Vivienne Westwood is remembered in London
EXTRA INFORMATION:
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