After four years delivering to 18 prisons across the UK, Leap staff, trainers and prisons partners review the work and share plans for the future.
Prisons across England and Wales have seen a continued upward trend in violence and an increase in the number of prisoners with complex needs. Staff shortages, high staff turnover and a significant number of newly qualified prison officers are some of the contributing factors to low staff morale and an escalation of prison violence.
In the last four years, Leap has been delivering our work to 18 prisons across the UK. We have been running programmes including training peer support workers, training conflict practitioners to deliver Leap workshops, as well as staff conflict management training and awareness sessions.
There have been many challenges in this work as a result of systemic structural issues and policy changes affecting the prison system. As a result, we decided to review our prisons work in 2019.
In our new strategic period, we want to see improved relationships within prisons – including relationships between prisoners and staff, relationships between prisoners and especially prisoners’ relationship with themselves.
