During the lunch period at the conference, we will be hosting a Marketplace of various organisations who work in and around the criminal justice sector. This will be a brilliant opportunity to network, build connections and bring new initiatives into prisons.

Read more about some of these brilliant partners below – please note this page will be regularly updated as partners are added.

Prisoners’ Education Trust

Prisoners’ Education Trust offers distance learning courses and related advice and guidance to people in prison, and uses policy and advocacy work to improve prison education and show policymakers and the public the impact that education can have for people in prison. We offer 125 different courses – including GCSEs and A-levels, Open University Access modules and a wide range of vocational courses – and enable 1,500 people each year to access distance learning, giving them the skills to build brighter futures. Analysis by the Ministry of Justice’s Justice Data Lab shows that people supported by PET to study distance learning courses in prison are more likely to get a job after release and less likely to reoffend.

The Bell Foundation

The Bell Foundation is a charity which is working across the criminal justice system to remove the systemic language barriers to justice and rehabilitation for anyone in contact with the criminal justice system who speaks English as a second or additional language, and to further develop the capacity of the criminal justice sector to meet the needs of these groups.
The Foundation’s Criminal Justice Programme has three key objectives:
1. Influencing system change and thought leadership;
2. Building the capacity of the criminal justice sector;
3. Funding and evaluating projects and services that aim to improve outcomes and wellbeing for individuals in contact with the CJS who speak ESL.

3 Pillars Project

3Pillars Project’s mission is to support young and adult men in the criminal justice system to forge brighter futures. We achieve this through our 3 Pillars: exercise, education, ethos. Using these as our methods of engagement and development we provide some of the country’s most vulnerable people with an increase in physical, mental and emotional resilience, vocational opportunities, mentors and role models that provide holistic support. With the use of sport as a foundation to build relationships that lead to finding stability and purpose within their lives.

StandOut

StandOut is an award-winning charity that delivers intensive group programmes for people preparing to leave prison, followed by one-to-one individual support offered after release for as long as is required. We focus on education, training, and employment and offer holistic, wraparound support to help people build stability across all areas of life. This can include support with housing, recovery from alcohol and substance misuse, issues with family, or difficulties with mental health. We empower people with the confidence and resilience needed to realise their potential and move out of the justice system for good.

Shannon Trust

Shannon Trust transforms lives by supporting disadvantaged people to learn to read. We are a registered charity, and work across prisons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to train and inspire people in prison who can read to teach those that cannot.
Each year, we help thousands of people in prison to learn to read, so that they can build a different, more positive future for themselves and their families. We have also recently started offering the same model for numeracy which we are rolling out this year. We also now work in partnership with organisations in the community to offer reading support to those who need it.

Koestler Arts

Koestler Arts is the UK’s best-known prison arts charity. They encourage people in the criminal justice system to change their lives by participating in the arts through its Koestler Awards, mentoring, feedback, exhibitions, events and sales. They share their artworks with the public, so people can witness this diverse range of voices, stories and talent.

Restorative Justice Council

The RJC is an independent membership organisation that serves as a representative for the restorative justice sector. Our primary focus is to provide support and guidance regarding standards, practices, and policies for individual practitioners and organisations in various sectors, including criminal justice. We do not directly work with victims or offenders as a service provider. Our responsibility is to establish and uphold standards of practice to ensure that those involved in restorative justice have access to safe and high-quality services.

Zahid Mubarek Trust

Zahid Mubarek Trust (ZMT) was set up by the family of 19-year-old Zahid, who was murdered by his racist cellmate on the morning of release from HMYOI Feltham. ZMT is dedicated to tackling racial disparities in the prison system and supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of ethnic minority prisoners and prison leavers. The Trust combines high-level national policy work with extensive grassroots work in 60 prisons.

Switchback

Switchback supports 18–30 year olds returning to London with intensive 1-to-1 support alongside real-work training and new experiences. Our methods are careful and consistent, rolling with the ups and downs of real life. We challenge and encourage Trainees to take control and build stability across all areas of life based on the 10 Switchback Pathways. The form that our support takes varies with each Trainee but most often begins in prison and continues on release.