HMP Send and High Down
Recently I have been performing my pleasurable duty of supporting the Judiciary and all who uphold the King’s Peace. Prior to the Service for the Judiciary, which I have already written about on Friday October 3rd, Suzanne and I were invited to visit two of the prisons in Surrey, HMP Send and HMP High Down.
I had visited HMP Send earlier in the year when attending the Art Exhibition co-ordinated with The Michael Varah memorial Fund and Watts Gallery; but this was the first time we had actually toured the prison. It was a beautifully sunny day which made the tour round the extensive horticultural areas most enjoyable. They grow a substantial amount of food for their own consumption and many of the inmates have their own patch in which to grow vegetables or plants of their choice.
Prison Governor, Esther Dainton, gave generously of her time to give us a tour of all areas and to explain many of the innovations within the prison; from more secluded quarters for some of the older inmates to be located together, to an area where inmates who are willing to stop their dependency on drugs can reside in en-suite pods next to each other in a small, more open, community. They are regularly tested to ensure they are remaining drug free and it is helpful towards their rehabilitation. As is, the ability to learn many skills inside, for example working with charity Fine Cell teaching soft work skills.
Later that week, Suzanne and I made a return visit to HMP High Down. When we visited earlier in my Shrieval year, we noticed that they were putting the finishing touches to installing an immersive suite which was a collaborative project with East Surrey College called Empowering Education and Sustainable Skills for a Fresh Start. Prison Governor, Emily Martin, kindly invited us back for the official opening and it is an incredible piece of kit. Richard Jackman, Business and Community Engagement Manager at High Down, who gave us an extensive tour of the prison on our previous visit, acted as MC and introduced the various partners, including BT Metaverse Learning and the Greater London Authority, who had contributed to the initiative, which had been complicated by the need to keep access to communication networks restricted within the prison confines.
We were then given a demonstration to show how the immersive technology could be used to teach certain green jobs such as installing solar panels or heat pumps; how it could provide immersive instruction on adjusting to the outside world, from leaving prison and walking to a train centre or entering East Surrey college for the first time; and how it could play immersive videos to both stimulate active engagement or reduce anxieties for those with neurodiversity issues.
It is an innovative project, the first of its kind in a prison in the UK aimed at reducing reoffending by equipping learners with valuable knowledge and practical skills.
