How prison support helps keep families together

Project

London Prisons Visiting Service

Funding

Around £950,000 a year over four years from the National Offender Management Service to run the service in eight prisons

Background

Children with family members in prison are more likely to struggle at school, have behavioural problems and suffer the impact of family breakdown. From September 2011, children's charity Spurgeons started running centres in London prisons specifically to support this vulnerable group during visits. "It's an incredibly stressful time when family members are in prison, and can make or break some families," says chief executive Ross Hendry. "This was about running a service to support these families and respond to children's needs."

Action

The London Prisons Visiting Service covers eight prisons: Brixton, Belmarsh, Feltham, Holloway, Isis, Pentonville, Wandsworth and Wormwood Scrubs. Fifty six permanent staff, supported by volunteers, receive more than 230,000 visits each year, including more than 36,000 by children.

Families arrive at a reception area adjoining the prison, where specially-trained staff are on hand to listen and talk through any issues. One-to-one support is offered and workers flag up other help that is available.

Families then move into the visitors' hall, which includes catering facilities and a safe play area for children where trained play workers, supported by volunteers, help children relax with activities including games, puzzles and crafts.

Many families are in need of complex support but reluctant to seek help so the charity organises regular drop-in sessions that bring support agencies to them at the prison to advise on issues such as housing, relationships and drug and alcohol abuse.

The service also runs family days in each of the prisons every two or three months offering the chance for parents and children to bond over activities such as crafts. At Pentonville Prison, the service has teamed up with Arsenal in the Community to run sports sessions while a homework club at Holloway Prison enables visiting children to spend an hour doing homework with their mothers.

"Activities like this help keep families together so when their family member comes out of prison, there's still a relationship there," concludes Hendry.

Outcome

The service delivers one-to-one support to more than 1,350 "high need" families and works with more than 10,000 children each year.

Ninety one per cent of 2,183 visitors between January and September 2014 described the service and its impact as "good" or "outstanding". And 97.3 per cent of 71 family members who brought prisoners' children to family days between July and September said the event had improved relationships.

The service helps keep children safe with Spurgeons staff taking action after abuse is witnessed by them or disclosed by children during a visit.