Positive Prisoner Rehabilitation in Kent – The Glasshouse.

Suzanne and I were delighted to be invited by The High Sheriff of Kent, Jonathan Neame, and his wife Lucie to accompany them on a visit to The Glasshouse; a charity that grows and nurtures extraordinary plants with women serving in UK prisons providing horticultural training and employment support with the aim to reduce reoffending and support second chances. We had the opportunity to meet Katie, the CEO, and with women who were on a programme devised by The Glasshouse. They work four days a week on release from HMP East Sutton Park, returning to the prison each evening. They learn transferrable skills working in the plant shop in Cranbrook, the nearby warehouse, which stores the plants short term before delivering to either online clients or  one of their 34 office clients up in London, or they travel up to London to carry out plant maintenance services on the plants bought by their office clients. 

At any one time The Glasshouse will have 5 or 6 female prisoners going through their programme and the intention is to have a job available for them on their release. To date they have helped 30 women and none have reoffended. One lady who now works for them explained how her life was turned around by the skills taught whilst in prison and the offer a job on release.

The Glasshouse in 2024 and 2025 exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show each time winning a gold medal with the staff and prisoners working side by side. This year they worked with Jo Thompson, one of the UK’s celebrated garden designers, who created The Glasshouse Garden, incorporating some of the features the women said they missed in prison including running water, fragrant smells and the beauty of nature. The installation has now been mover and installed at HMP Down View in Surrey where it can be enjoyed in the open part of the prison.