Prisons told to consult children on play

The Prison Advice & Care Trust (Pact) has created guidance for playworkers in prisons to engage more with children when planning play provision to ensure it better meets their needs.

Sandra Duhaney, Pact senior services manager, said that a lot of good work has been conducted by third sector organisations to make prisons more family and child-friendly. But she claimed there was still more work required in terms of listening to prisoners' children and thus improving their outcomes.

"Consulting children to enlist their participation in service development is fundamental and it is equally important to demonstrate that their views will be listened to and validated," Duhaney said. "Without such useful dialogue, services targeted at children are less likely to be user led or responsive to change."

The guidance offers a step-by-step approach to providing a child-friendly environment in prisons, based on regular consultation. According to Pact it is easily adaptable to be used by any professionals working with children, although it focuses particularly on prisons. Pact plans to promote the new resource at a series of family days in prisons across the UK during the Christmas period.