Aylesbury

OFFICERS

The Officers said staff across all disciplines worked well as a team, and there was a good rapport with prisoners. They rated ‘visible management’, the Governor’s weekly rounds, and frequent ‘back to the floor’ days, and also liked staff briefings, by area, every morning. The gym and chaplaincy were ‘excellent’. As elsewhere in the estate, in-cell phones had made ‘a big difference’. The Redemption Roasters coffee makers training program was praised as ‘excellent’ and had helped numerous prisoners get jobs.

MANAGERS

The senior managers had fulsome praise for the staff’s ‘courage’, ‘resilience’, and ‘excellent’ camaraderie. They noted good support for detached staff (many ‘want to stay’), and liked regular staff well-being days and the monthly training shut down. They cited a good range of OBPs, ‘excellent’ drug services and mental health support, and a (unique) ‘Pathways’ daycare programme for prisoners with PD, alongside training all staff in managing PD and complex needs. They also rated healthcare’s complex care (including weekly case reviews). They praised family support, including monthly family visits, ‘Fathers & Children’ days every few months, annual ‘Lifer Days’ (run by Pact), Storybook Dads, and quarterly ‘celebrations of achievement’ with families invited in. Redemption Roasters, the Chaplaincy, and gym staff and facilities all got the thumbs up, as did a dedicated local police team for suspected crimes in prison. The safer custody team was ‘very strong’, with families brought in on ACCTs to provide support, and Listeners invited to regular safer custody meetings. They also liked the Prisoner Council, monthly meetings with governors and department heads, and the ‘Best Kept Wing’ Competition.

PRISONERS

The prisoners also said the gym, its staff, and Prisoner Council were very good. In-cell phones (including access to Samaritans 24/7) were ‘excellent’, as were single cells. They also liked the good educational and personal development opportunities.