Workshop leaders were:
- Veronica Bowers - Feek – Unpaid Work Project Manager, Sussex Probation Service
- James Mason – Northumbria Dry Stone Walling Institute
- Chris Holyrod – Head of Access and Learning, HM Young Offenders Institute Deerbolt
- Gail Graham – Outreach Officer, English Heritage
Speakers from the Probation Service, Deerbolt Young Offenders Institute in County Durham, the Northumberland Dry Stone Walling Institute and English Heritage discussed two projects involving offenders. One project involved people subject to Community Punishment orders, working to restore an old mill. The other involved young offenders on day release from their institution learning how to build traditional dry stone walls.
The overall impression was that there is great opportunity to work further with this sector and experiences, on the whole, have been positive. The offenders themselves have been able to accredit their learning and learn generic work place skills, team work and how to use IT such as desk top publishing.
Outdoors work was seen as a particular draw, especially for young men and it is important to work gradually into a project through taster days and awareness raising. Enthusiastic staff are a must.
A barrier to effective partnership working was the criminal justice system itself which meant that young people could be released or moved from the institute which curtailed their involvement. Security checks for visitors and the people taking part in the project also meant that time was often taken up on non project work. It was suggested that offender involvement would not be suitable for strictly time bound projects.
There have been benefits in terms of community relationships and ownership of the sites used, staff development and the reputation of the institute as a learning provider, leading to increased contact with other organisations. The heritage work itself has been of a high quality.
It was recognised that it was important not to raise unrealistic expectations amongst those taking part and that support advice and guidance on job skill development and how to transfer the skills and knowledge they had acquired to other employment providers should form part of any such projects.
