Press Cuttings
Press & Media
If you are a journalist or member of the press and need more information on any matter regarding K College
K College Press InformationFOLLOW K COLLEGE
High Sheriff Impressed by K College work to reform offenders
Wednesday, 20 July 2011 13:00
Left to right - Tracey McRobert (K College) Jeff Neaves (Prison Service) Liz Simpton (Community Payback Manager) Ben March (New Skills New Lives tutor and team leader) Charles Warner and Georgie Warner (High Sheriff)
The new High Sheriff of Kent, Georgia Warner, says she is ‘impressed’ by a Dover Community Payback project that punishes offenders and helps to turn their lives around by giving them valuable qualifications with K college.
Mrs Warner said she chose to visit aspects of the Criminal Justice System in her new role, as she is the Queen’s representative for law and order throughout the county. She has visited Cookham Wood, Blantyre House, East Sutton and the Removal Centre at Dover. She also wanted to see what Kent Probation is doing and how offenders are dealt with.
She said: ‘I wanted to see the different approaches that are used to deal with offenders in the Criminal Justice System. During my visits, I have found there are lots of different ways that can effectively stop offenders committing crimes without sending them to prison which is a huge expense to the public taxpayer.’
On Tuesday, she visited Kent Probation’s Community Payback project at Crabble Corn Mill in River, which sees offenders carrying out tough and demanding work as part of their community sentence. At the project, offenders pay back to communities for the harm they have caused through unpaid work, which includes dredging the river, maintaining the mill’s grounds and painting and decorating the cottages. The project in River also gives offenders the opportunity to spend a small amount of time gaining qualifications with K College’s New Skills New Lives. The qualifications are an important element in helping to reform offenders by helping to improve their self-esteem and future prospects of gaining employment.
On her visit, the High Sheriff met 28 year old Dave Williams from Aycliffe who is serving a community order with a requirement to complete unpaid work. He has convictions for driving offences and assault. He said: ‘I was placed on a project with tough manual work and then this bus was here and I asked what it was for. My Community Payback Supervisor explained that whilst carrying out my unpaid work I could gain some new skills and qualifications.’
Dave left Astor School with no qualifications but has passed Level 1 Literacy and Numeracy since he started, and is progressing through to Level 2 in both, having just taken Level 2 Literacy exams. ‘I’m more grown up now and willing to learn which makes a big difference! My daughter is very bright and asks questions constantly and I want to help her with her homework. When I first started, I hadn’t a clue, and now I hope to keep on studying.’
All the people brought to the scheme by Kent Probation are helped by the fact that their Community Payback Supervisor and tutor, Ben March, 27, really understands what they have gone through. He was sentenced to 3 months in prison for fraud, and while he has A Levels and worked at a high level in banking, he could never go back there. He had to find a new career.
He said: ‘I started as a volunteer here when I came out and then became a team leader within a year. This whole experience has served as a real eye opener for me. You take for granted what you have got, there’s people less fortunate. You realize that people haven’t had the privileges you have had, even my basic school was ten times better than some people have faced. Skills for Life was just starting when I was in prison, but it really helped me. I was just lucky.’
The High Sheriff toured Crabble Mill and spoke of the obvious job satisfaction people who work with prisoners and offenders have. She said: ‘I have not come across anybody where I have thought ‘they are in the wrong job’. There is such a lot of positive feeling, there is a lot of care. I have been really impressed with what I have seen.’
K College has provided supportive services for offenders in the community for two years. New Skills New Lives is for anyone who wants to re-skill or up-skill – those at risk of redundancy or looking for employment. There’s the chance to gain entry level qualifications and then progress onto full or part time courses with apprenticeship opportunities. K College can also access K Recruit, a dedicated recruitment service in the College with specialist knowledge of the local employment market.
Crabble Corn Mill was rescued from demolition in 1990 and is now one of the most complete and working examples of a Georgian watermill in Europe.
For further information – Sandy Fleming, College, PR and Media Relations, K College, on 0791 7765811
Mrs Warner said she chose to visit aspects of the Criminal Justice System in her new role, as she is the Queen’s representative for law and order throughout the county. She has visited Cookham Wood, Blantyre House, East Sutton and the Removal Centre at Dover. She also wanted to see what Kent Probation is doing and how offenders are dealt with.
She said: ‘I wanted to see the different approaches that are used to deal with offenders in the Criminal Justice System. During my visits, I have found there are lots of different ways that can effectively stop offenders committing crimes without sending them to prison which is a huge expense to the public taxpayer.’
On Tuesday, she visited Kent Probation’s Community Payback project at Crabble Corn Mill in River, which sees offenders carrying out tough and demanding work as part of their community sentence. At the project, offenders pay back to communities for the harm they have caused through unpaid work, which includes dredging the river, maintaining the mill’s grounds and painting and decorating the cottages. The project in River also gives offenders the opportunity to spend a small amount of time gaining qualifications with K College’s New Skills New Lives. The qualifications are an important element in helping to reform offenders by helping to improve their self-esteem and future prospects of gaining employment.
On her visit, the High Sheriff met 28 year old Dave Williams from Aycliffe who is serving a community order with a requirement to complete unpaid work. He has convictions for driving offences and assault. He said: ‘I was placed on a project with tough manual work and then this bus was here and I asked what it was for. My Community Payback Supervisor explained that whilst carrying out my unpaid work I could gain some new skills and qualifications.’
Dave left Astor School with no qualifications but has passed Level 1 Literacy and Numeracy since he started, and is progressing through to Level 2 in both, having just taken Level 2 Literacy exams. ‘I’m more grown up now and willing to learn which makes a big difference! My daughter is very bright and asks questions constantly and I want to help her with her homework. When I first started, I hadn’t a clue, and now I hope to keep on studying.’
All the people brought to the scheme by Kent Probation are helped by the fact that their Community Payback Supervisor and tutor, Ben March, 27, really understands what they have gone through. He was sentenced to 3 months in prison for fraud, and while he has A Levels and worked at a high level in banking, he could never go back there. He had to find a new career.
He said: ‘I started as a volunteer here when I came out and then became a team leader within a year. This whole experience has served as a real eye opener for me. You take for granted what you have got, there’s people less fortunate. You realize that people haven’t had the privileges you have had, even my basic school was ten times better than some people have faced. Skills for Life was just starting when I was in prison, but it really helped me. I was just lucky.’
The High Sheriff toured Crabble Mill and spoke of the obvious job satisfaction people who work with prisoners and offenders have. She said: ‘I have not come across anybody where I have thought ‘they are in the wrong job’. There is such a lot of positive feeling, there is a lot of care. I have been really impressed with what I have seen.’
K College has provided supportive services for offenders in the community for two years. New Skills New Lives is for anyone who wants to re-skill or up-skill – those at risk of redundancy or looking for employment. There’s the chance to gain entry level qualifications and then progress onto full or part time courses with apprenticeship opportunities. K College can also access K Recruit, a dedicated recruitment service in the College with specialist knowledge of the local employment market.
Crabble Corn Mill was rescued from demolition in 1990 and is now one of the most complete and working examples of a Georgian watermill in Europe.
For further information – Sandy Fleming, College, PR and Media Relations, K College, on 0791 7765811
