Not a heading I would want to see very often!!!!

Yesterday Mark and I went to meet the new Governor and some of his senior team at Littlehey Prison and Youth Offender Institute near Grafham Water. We managed to get in, avoid breaking any of the rules and get out again without incedent. Good news for us at least.

We discussed how we are thinking much more about place and the people of Cambridgeshire rather than our own organisations.

It was good to learn more about their work with inmates to prevent reoffending. We had a look around their workshops at the things they do to help equip prisoners with skills to help them secure work on release. I was concerned that a college from out of county were supporting this activity rather than one of our fine establishments. I have followed up on this.

The conversation with Stewart – who gets out on Friday – about his experience in the welding and fabrication workshop was inspirational.

The Governor is keen to expand the prison’s and YOI’s external links and to play a part as a community leader. We will be linking to ensure we work well with Littlehey in our Family Intervention Project if a family member is in the prison or YOI. There were a number of other ideas too that we’ll pick up.