Pentonville launches Leadership in Rehabilitative Cultures course
Staff at Pentonville prison are being offered training to help them to understand the complex needs of prisoners and to promote a “rehabilitative culture”.
An innovative course launched by Pentonville Prison Education in association with the University of Westminster will see staff from throughout the establishment attending classes both within the prison walls and at the university.
The concept was devised by Jose Aguiar, a prison educator at Pentonville. He and Dr Tom Moore, the university’s Associate Head of College (Education and Students), worked together in the planning and content of the course.
Aguiar said: “This interdisciplinary course is designed to equip prison staff with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to address the complexities of the prison population and to enable a rehabilitative culture in prison and hopefully lead to reducing reoffending rates”.
Using concepts drawn from different disciplines, including psychology, criminology, sociology, and organisation and leadership, the course supports prison staff in developing potential intervention strategies. Topics include mental health, resilience, leadership, communication, and deterrence education.
In the opening week, a class was held at the university during which specialist lecturers who will be taking the various topics joined and met with the students. Among those taking part were prison officers and staff from the Business Hub, Activities Hub, Phoenix Futures (who undertake interventions), Through the Gate, the prison library, and the education department.
The first session (pictured) was “Understanding Rehabilitative Culture”, led by Aguiar and Andy Aresti, senior lecturer in criminology. It focussed on defining the concept of a rehabilitative culture and included realistic discussions on creating a positive atmosphere within the prison, attitudes toward prisoners, and ways to encourage them to turn their lives around. Attendees were then split into groups and asked to design a rehabilitative prison.
The group was eager to stay on and keep talking when the session ended, which is always the test of the success of a lesson. Helena Baptista, editor of the jail’s Voice of the Ville magazine, reported that on the following day, those who had attended were “buzzing” about the course. One of those present stated “The group work and the teachers were brilliant.” Another declared “I enjoyed the class and liked that it was a mixed class as it gave views from different departments within the prison, which as an officer you don’t usually get to hear.”
The organisers are convinced that the course will benefit both those attending and the prison itself. A graduation ceremony is planned for April.
It sounds a very positive step and something that should be available throughout the prison system.
Yes, the Course is a very positive step if I may say so, and one wishes it every possible success. I’d humbly suggest that ‘Rehabilitation’ in a different context, – that of re-entering everyday life from Hospital after an injury, – is the more straightforward type, because in that case everybody accepts the patient back and wishes them well. This ‘acceptance’ may be less than whole-hearted for rehabilitated prisoners, – I mean in the sense that there may always be some doubt, about a grandfather clock which has once struck 13. The word “stigma” is not heard much these days, but it was once the subject of a whole book (by Goffman). Society can still load people with stigma, and it’s difficult for the victim either to escape it, or to avoid its weight on his back all the time. I’m saying that coping with personal stigma, could be one of the matters for the Course’s attention, I’m guessing.
Does that mean they will have training on how to deal with post operative women who as GRC birth certificate stating female who is in pentonville she as problems getting her personal things like shampoo body wash ect make up.