Invisible Walls Family Support
Service
HMP Winchester
The Invisible Walls approach
 DfE funded project 2011-2013
 Big Lottery Reaching Communities 2013-16
 HCC Troubled Families Innovation Grant
Common Aims :
• help reduce re-offending
• increase stability of children’s lives, and
• help families achieve positive outcomes
The scale of need….
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200,000 children experience a parent being
sent to prison each year nationally
around 65% of boys with a Dad in prison
become offenders themselves
nearly 30% of children with a parent in
prison experience mental health problems
children of prisoners are more likely to
experience poorer education attainment and
higher levels of social disadvantage
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Emotional Impact on Children :
• Disenfranchised grief – grief that persons experience
when they incur a loss that is not or cannot be openly
acknowledged, publically mourned or socially
supported”. (Doka 1989) The Role of Schools in Supporting
Families Affected by Imprisonment
Winston Churchill Memorial Trust - Report Oct 12
• Feelings of guilt by association
• Feeling labelled – ‘Don’t assume that I will end up in
prison like my Mum or Dad’
• Not being told the truth
• Loss of childhood – changing roles in families
Invisible Walls -what do we
offer ?
• Information , advice and support for
families visiting the prison
• Signposting and referrals to community
support
• Parenting programmes and support for
fathers in prison
• Pre and post release support packages
• Training and workforce development
a space to talk…
Visitor’s Centre at HMP Winchester
a space to play…
Visitor’s Centre at HMP Winchester
Feedback from families
[The Visitors’ Centre] is a
hand of humanity in a
very cold, sad place. It
helps me feel less of an
outcast in society
If this centre wasn’t
here I wouldn’t
bring my children
The Visitors’ Centre
makes the whole
thing easier
Children’s voices…
Some extracts from visitor’s boards…
Some extracts from visitor’s boards…
Pre arrest
Resettlement
Arrest
The
Offender
Journey
Release
First court
appearance
Remand: bail/custody
Trial and
Sentence
Custodial/non-custodial
Pre-release
Serving Sentence
in custody
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Parenting Support
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Time for You and Your Child
Time for You and your Baby
Time for You and Your Teenager
Family Days
o Storybook Dads
o Dads Together Group
o Self Study Packs
Feedback from fathers
I enjoyed setting goals for
myself and thinking for
the future
Most enjoyable…
expressing and
sharing my thoughts
and feelings
I’ve learned about
my child’s
emotional
development and
how important a
Dad’s role is
Future opportunities and
challenges
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Resettlement agenda – HMP Winchester
Changes to Probation Service
Troubled Families agenda
Commissioning
Capacity
Expectations
PARTNERHIP WORKING
Contact details :
Kerry Longhorn – Service Lead
klonghorn@spurgeons.org
mob : 0778 0757 7368
Issy Pound – Workforce Development Lead
ipound@spurgeons.org
Mob: 07794 394678