Guernsey Prison is committed to providing a working prison which enables prisoners to access learning opportunities and gain work skills, and achieve academic and vocational qualifications, increasing the likelihood of them finding employment on release.
There are three key work streams which offer vocational qualifications; catering, horticulture and wood working. The Prison also works closely with the charity CLIP to facilitate some qualifications through carpentry and assists prisoners in gaining life skills to aid them upon release.
Prisoners are able to apply for work, education, and training through the Activity Allocation Board (AAB) when vacancies become available. Sentence plan targets for education, training, and employment take priority when positions are allocated. Each employment area has a competency element, and all prisoners are required to complete an induction before they can commence work. Once training is complete, the prisoner signs a prisoner employment record to confirm their competency. There is set criteria to be met for every available vacancy, which includes the security category allocated to the position.
Employment, progression, and education classes and offending behaviour courses are also allocated, and payments are made for sessions attended Monday to Friday. Weekend work, such as in the kitchen, and essential cleaning, are paid at normal session rates. Payments are allocated for sessions as per the Prisoners' Pay Policy, and incorporate employment, education, training, and offending behaviour courses.
Regimes additional functions include: the Prison Library, prisoners are able to join the library and access the stock, which is served by the public Library (Guille Allez).
Guernsey prison has a dedicated Education facility, delivering a range of courses/classes where prisoners are able to study towards qualifications. All prisoners on completion of induction and assessment are given a College of FE enrolment. The curriculum varies and is subject to change depending on the needs of the prisoners.
Voluntary agencies and volunteers support areas of the regime enabling prisoners to gain skills such as working with charities and different organisations.
Education
Education in Guernsey Prison aims to give individuals the skills they need to unlock their potential, gain employment and become assets to their communities. We aim to build social capital and improve the wellbeing of prisoners during their sentences and when released.
Guernsey Education Department offers learning provision that is appropriate to the needs and aspirations of its prisoners ; taking account of the prisoner cohort and is responsive to the evolving employment markets in the areas into which prisoners will be released.
Prisoners are engaged and supported, from their arrival in prison to their release. They are inducted on arrival and assessed as to their learning needs; this is so they can attain their personal, learning and employment goals and enhance their ability to achieve and keep employment on release.
Special attention shall be paid to the education and training of prisoners with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and if necessary, they shall be taught within the hours normally allotted to work and in other 1:1 sessions where appropriate.
We currently offer the following courses in house:
- ASDAN - COPE
- Art
- Barbering
- Booking Keeping
- Choir
- Cookery
- Crocheting
- Driving Theory
- Duke of Edinburgh under 25s
- English
- Financial Planning
- First Aid
- IHASCO Health and Safety
- IT
- Languages/Open Learn Courses
- Mathematics
- Nutrition
- Peer Mentoring
- PET Distance Learning to - Level 2-5
- Prison Magazine
- Rag Rug
- Plumbing
- Sport
Activities funded wholly or partly by CLIP include yoga classes, production of the prison magazine (Bang Up), music classes, photography courses, drama (inc. Geese Theatre Company from the UK), additional art and craft activities (e.g. for Koestler Awards, 'rag rug' and crochet classes), employment related courses & classes (e.g. City & Guilds courses in plumbing, painting & decorating, barbering), beekeeping, cookery & financial awareness sessions.
Workshops
Main Workshop
- Upcycling furniture and providing an area for prisoners to train in plumbing, painting, and decorating.
The Carpentry Workshop
- CLIP fully funded the build and fit out of a separate unit within the perimeter of the prison, comprising a dedicated carpentry facility.
- This workshop carries out a wide range of community projects for schools, States Departments, parish authorities and other charities & community groups as well as making items of garden furniture and other woodworking projects for sale to the public.
- Where possible, we are also committed to sustainability and recycle as much of our waste as possible with daily prison collections of cardboard, plastics, food and general waste. Sawdust produced in the carpentry workshop is also recycled using a machine supplied by CLIP to compress it into briquettes which are then sold as fuel for open fires and/or woodturning stoves.
The Tricoteur Workshop
- Mending and ironing Guernsey jumpers and creating World Aid Walk medals, designing and painting items for the CLIP shop and packing various documentation. The barbering salon is also housed here.
Catering
The kitchen caters to the specific dietary requirements of all prisoners. Prisoners can request to undertake a Food & Hygiene Level 2 delivered by Education that lasts for 3 years.
The catering team deliver a NVQ in catering which enables prisoner to gain qualifications and have more opportunity for employment on release. Some prisoners work towards ROTL where they help out in the community and then paid release.
The catering department also provide Buffets for use within the prison and outside which is good experience for prisoners
The HMP Inspectors found the quality of food to be ''excellent and portion sizes ample''. The Kitchen was awarded a 4 star rating for food health and hygiene. There will be a working group including PEI's Kitchen and Diversity Officers to make sure that we deliver healthy and diverse menus to Prisoners .
