Nacro news

A-dapt and Nacro have won a Webby Award in the Virtual & Remote Science & Education category. We teamed together to create a Soft Skills Interview Training programme, with our learners piloting the software. Interactive films show learners what to say in interviews and how to prepare. Learners then test the skills they have learnt…

Professor Nick Hardwick CBE is taking on the role of Chair of the Board of Trustees with us. Professor Hardwick has led charities working with homeless people and refugees and is a former Chief Inspector of Prisons, Chair of the Parole Board and Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission. He is now Professor of…

We are working in partnership with Braintree District Council to provide housing in the local area. The funding was received from the Next Steps Accommodation Programme, a government scheme to provide help to rough sleepers. We will own and manage the accommodation and the funding will help towards the cost of an additional staff member…

Written by Andrew Ruscoe, ex-Nacro learner I was born and raised in Wrexham. As a youngster between the ages of 18 and 24, I was I extremely hard to handle and easily lead by the wrong crowds. I got into drinking excessively, experimenting with drugs, and I was fighting a lot which lead me to…

As part of International Women’s Day 2022, we are very excited to be launching our Menopause Guidance for our staff! This collaborative piece of work has been driven by our HR team and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee, to ensure that staff across Nacro are supported with the menopause. Read staff member Katia’s story…

We are delighted to announce we have been commissioned to run the new CAS-2 service for people on bail or released from prison under licence conditions for the next five years. CAS-2 is the new name for the Bail Accommodation and Support Service (BASS), which Nacro has been delivering since June 2018 on behalf of…

On Thursday 10th February, our women’s SWITCH service held an event to celebrate 11 years of helping women overcome health, social, financial, educational and housing challenges and build better futures for them and their families. There, we heard from women we’ve supported and staff members, who spoke about the importance of the service and the…

By Sebastian Wells, Data & Research Officer Recently, myself and fellow External Engagement team member, Andrea, took a trip to Wolverhampton to visit HMP Featherstone. After getting off the train it was just a short taxi ride to the prison gates, where we were welcomed by Fiona Stebbing, Operations Lead for Nacro’s education delivery at…

Our team working in HMP Doncaster have successfully supported another group of people leaving prison during the Christmas and New Year period. Our Departure Lounge, set up in the prison foyer, aims to make release day easier and provides support with: accommodation organising benefits substance misuse probation food vouchers, packed lunches and warm drinks to…

At the end of 2021, we underwent an assessment of our organisation-wide Information Advice and Guidance Services (IAG) against the matrix Standard, an international quality standard for organisations that deliver information, advice and/or guidance either as their sole purpose or as part of their service offering. We are pleased to confirm that we have retained…

Our Supporting Women in the Community and Home (SWITCH) service have filmed a video in support of the 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence campaign, which raises awareness of domestic violence and how we can recognise, support and stop it from happening. Lynn, Sue and Lisa from SWITCH have filmed an insightful video about…

Over the past few days, the Government has released a series of announcements on prisons and reducing reoffending. Nacro’s comments on the news are below. Government Drug Strategy “The Government’s Drugs Strategy announcement of investment in treatment for addiction is both vital and welcome and will benefit us all. Yet other announcements in the strategy of increased…

By Paul Hutchinson, Hub Lead at Nacro’s Boston youth housing project Traditionally Remembrance Day is to commend the end of the First World War and those who sacrificed themselves, but more recently we also acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of those who served their country in any conflict and acknowledge our responsibility to work for the…

There are so many reasons why I applied to be a Nacro Trustee back in September 2020. I was interested in the support we give to people to help them turn their lives around, our criminal justice policy work, and having responsibility in the operation of an organisation with a budget of over £63 million….

Menopause, in simple terms, is a natural part of being a woman. The most important thing to say is that menopause is normal. It isn’t something to be ashamed of or scared of. For many years it has often been dismissed as just another one of those ‘women’s things’ like periods and childbirth that were…

On the last week of September, it was National Inclusion Week – a week to recognise and celebrate inclusion in the workplace and education settings and this year’s theme was unity. As we also mark the start of Black History Month and Jed Khaliq, a teaching and learning tutor in our Sheffield education centre, wrote…

Our Education & Skills Centre in Carlisle has won Post-16 Provider of the Year for Cumbria in the 2021 Golden Apple Awards, in association with Cumbria University. We are thrilled with the result for the team and for the young people they have worked with over the last year! Lisa Capper MBE, Principal, said: “This…

To mark the end of a challenging school year, Nacro learners in Newcastle decided to organise a football game, with all welcome to play. James, a construction student, was appointed as the group leader and he allocated tasks to his peers. After three weeks of preparation the learners had sourced a sponsor from Cramlington Town…

At our reducing reoffending event at the end of May, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice – Robert Buckland – announced an increase in the discharge grant for the first time since 1995, from £46 to £76. Rebranded as the “one-off subsistence payment”, this is money given on release to prison leavers…

Nacro Education is pleased to report some outstanding achievements by its students this GCSE results day. This year, following the cancellation of exams, grades were awarded through a process of teacher assessed grades (TAGs), against a national standard and approved and awarded by the exam boards. Young people had to work very hard this year…

Breakdown and Nacro response from Sam Julius Earlier this week, the Government launched its new “Beating Crime Plan”, supported by a range of initiatives seeking to “tackle the underlying causes of crime.” Within the Government’s announcement, they state that they rely on Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to drive delivery of this plan. The announcement…

We all know how important having a safe and secure home is. But for too many people leaving prison this has seemed an impossible dream for too long. Around a thousand people are released from prison homeless every month, held back from accessing support, getting a job, or moving on in their lives and away…

SWITCH have been busy implementing a COVID-19 restrictions exit strategy. There has been a focus on getting the people we support socialising, doing activities and leaving the house. For some background, the SWITCH (Supporting Women in the Community and Home) project provides support to vulnerable women aged 16 and older who face a range of…

On 19th July, Nacro Walsall hosted their annual Awards Ceremony with awards presented by Councillor Harbans Sarohi, the Deputy Mayor of Walsall, and Lisa Capper MBE, Nacro’s Director of Education & Skills. This year has been one of the most challenging in recent memory with the pandemic preventing classroom teaching for large parts of the…

Last week our chief executive, Campbell Robb, visited one of our Education & Skills Centres to meet some of the learners and hear about the incredible work they have achieved throughout a very challenging year. Some learners opened up about their life stories and experiences, whilst the students also heard from Campbell in a question-and-answer…

The Government risks failing a generation of young people as almost one in five don’t achieve the equivalent of five good GCSEs by 19, an eight-year low, a new campaign highlights. Nacro, one of the country’s largest independent further education providers, launches the ‘Learn Without Limits’ campaign today, calling on the Government to remove barriers…

Surrounded by tall, imposing, buildings, the city’s hustle and bustle can be clearly heard in the carpark. Hooting cars and bellowing buses are competing with the clanging sounds of nearby building sites. Amongst all this din, the sounds of the city are being absorbed and drowned out by 3 brightly coloured, wooden, square boxes that…

For this years’ Volunteers’ Week we want to recognise David’s volunteer work for Nacro as well as hear his story. David joined one of our focus groups in our justice and health directorate as well as working to promote the voices of people within the criminal justice system. David has also sat on our national…

Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) has awarded £245,000 to Nacro in partnership with the Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice (IPSCJ) and the Institute for Social Innovation and Impact (ISII) at the University of Northampton to conduct research on ex-Service personnel in the criminal justice system in England, Wales and Scotland. This 18-month project,…

We recently conducted a survey of people working in resettlement, asking them their opinions of their line of work and how things can be done better to reduce reoffending. The respondents works for a variety of organisations, including voluntary organisations, local authorities, police, youth offending teams, the National Probation Service, and HMPPS. The most prominent…

The investment of an initial £195 million has been awarded to 26 organisations across England and Wales to provide vital support services that help reduce reoffending, such as employment and housing advice. Nacro have been contracted to deliver accommodation in East Midlands, West Midlands and Wales, and support services (mental health, family and relationships) in…

Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of Nacro, a social justice charity which supports people coming out of prison and has campaigned for an increase in the discharge grant, said: “Today at a Nacro event, the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland, confirmed that the amount of money given to people leaving prison is to be…

James (on the left) had a turbulent childhood. He started skipping school, taking drugs and getting into trouble with the police. He was taken into care and his future felt uncertain. After this, with the help of his foster carer, James was referred to our education and skills centre in Newcastle and had to make some huge adjustments to…

The Prevention Alliance is made up of six not-for-profit organisations, including Nacro, who work together to improve health and wellbeing in Stockport. For Deaf Awareness Week, TPA team member Jo (a British Sign Language trained key worker) has written a blog about the service’s Deaf Drop-In during the pandemic. In the days before we even…

On Thursday 20th May, 2:00pm – 2:30pm, we will be hosting our latest virtual event with the Secretary of State for Justice, Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC MP. We are delighted to be welcoming back the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, for a session that will be hosted by our Chief Executive,…

In this blog, Charlotte Webb opens up about her experiences of alcoholism and being trapped in toxic cycle of binge drinking and withdrawal. After realising she needed help, she reached out to Recovery Near You who supported her to give up drinking and move on with her life. How it started Alcohol didn’t really interest…

Deanna Neilson is a guest speaker and external expert to our National Safeguarding Board and works with the London Borough of Hillingdon as Head of Regulated Services. She was previously the Head of Safeguarding at Action for Children for 4+ years. Deanne has provided a blog for Nacro’s Safeguarding Week, focussing on the mental health of young people.   It is Nacro’s Safeguarding Week and I want to…

The critical spotlight of safeguarding is again illuminating the stirring issue of how we can protect children in sport more effectively. Following several scandals, Andrea Coates, the head of UK Athletics, signed a petition with 200 athletes last month requesting a ‘zero-policy’ for coaches found guilty of sexual misconduct and demanded nothing short of a…

Service Manager Andrea Norton describes the challenges and obstacles of safeguarding during COVID-19. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have continued to work hard to maintain business continuity and have remained committed to the safeguarding of all our service users across the region. Coronavirus restrictions have made us adapt our day-to-day work – virtual meetings, doorstep…

Nacro is delighted to have been selected to lead the delivery of the education and skills provision for children and young people at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre (STC), a 76-bed STC in Northamptonshire. Rated Good by Ofsted, Nacro will build on many years’ experience in the further education and skills sector across the country, working…

Introduction We support a number of the measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, including: The commitment to criminal record disclosure reform The piloting of problem-solving courts Increasing the threshold for custodial remand of children However, we are very concerned that a number of the measures in the Bill represent an inflation of…

Nacro will be working in partnership with Resonance Ltd – a social impact investment company working with social enterprises and charities – to house people in London who are currently sleeping rough or residing in hostels. The Everyone In Partnership will provide 50 homes for those sleeping rough on London’s streets, with an estimate of…

Today (19th February 2021) Helen Dyson took part in a radio interview on WCRFM Wolverhampton Radio to discuss our Recovery Near You Service. We asked some of our service users to answer our questionnaire and these are the results: 96% said they would come back to RNY for a repeat test Vs 45% said they…

On Thursday 4th March, 3:30pm – 5:00pm, we will be hosting a virtual panel event, with the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor, Rt Hon David Lammy MP and London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, and Nacro’s Resettlement Broker Lavinia Aleri. This event serves as a follow-up to…

Nacro’s Chief Executive, Campbell Robb, has written for The Times Red Box, emphasising the worsening crisis of COVID-19 in our prisons and reiterating our calls to government to keep people in the criminal justice system safe. “There are now a number of prisons where serious outbreaks of COVID-19 are causing real concern. These come amid…

Simon’s journey with Nacro began almost 13 years ago as an apprentice at our Boston Education & Skills Centre. Since then, he’s witnessed the development of our education provision and worked his way up to assistant principal of Nacro Education. This National Apprenticeship Week, he tells his story and reveals how apprenticeships can open doors…

Are you working with someone who has had difficulty finding a job, university place, tenancy or insurance because of their criminal record? We want to be able to tell the real stories of the people we work with to ensure that we influence the Government about the issues that make a difference. In September 2020,…

Nacro has submitted evidence to the Education Committee’s inquiry on prison education: ‘Education: Are prisoners being left behind?’. It examines how current arrangements support learners in custody and how well prison education delivers the skills needed by employers. The inquiry is considering education for adults, young people and children in custody. In our evidence we…

The latest official monthly statistics1 show a sharp increase of 65% in Covid-19 infections in prisons across the country, and a 51% rise in deaths related to the disease. Leading social justice charity Nacro is calling on the government to ensure that all staff working in prisons are treated as a priority for vaccination. In…

We know through our work in prisons and our campaigning that being released from prison during the holidays or on Fridays can make the already complicated release process more difficult. With many key services closed, those released during these times may struggle to sort out housing, funds and health support. It can feel like a race against the clock….