19th November 2025
In September last year, we welcomed our first cohort of custodial managers (CMs) to Unlocked ChangeMakers. This bespoke leadership development programme is transforming the quality of middle leadership in the prison system. It is giving CMs the tools to be inspirational leaders and drive real culture change on the landings, supporting the prison officers they work with to have the greatest possible impact and ultimately improving outcomes for the prisoners in their care.
An excellent middle manager can radically improve outcomes for an entire wing, yet many custodial managers receive very limited training. The Unlocked ChangeMakers programme is changing this, applying learnings from our graduate programme to support CMs to be outstanding middle leaders and lead rehabilitative change in their prisons.
After completing the programme this summer, we spoke to Sandra and Keith about their experiences on the ChangeMakers programme and the impact it has had on them as leaders in their prisons.
Why did you want to join the ChangeMakers programme?
Keith: I realised there was a real need for help and support for custodial managers – both new and experienced, there’s always something more to learn. The ChangeMakers programme came along, and I thought this can only be a good thing for me personally, and if I can use these skills to help support and develop other staff as well, then that will be beneficial to the whole establishment.
Sandra: Becoming a CM, no one gives you formal training on how to manage. At the heart of it for me was getting some actual leadership skills, and the ChangeMakers programme offers the opportunity to be around like-minded people that are in the same position as you and understand the difficulties you are facing on a day-to-day basis. But it also provides solutions because – beyond leadership skills – the programme gives you the opportunity to sit with people who may already have the answers to the questions you have.
As custodial managers, if we have hope that we can bring change, we can have an effect on the senior leadership team above us and the staff we manage.
How important was it to be part of a cohort of custodial managers from prisons across the country?
Sandra: I found the residentials to be very insightful. Unlocked has given us a bigger network of people that we have access to. For me, it allowed me to understand that a lot of our problems are not isolated. It also allowed me to understand that there are people who want to implement change, and we were able to bounce ideas and knowledge off each other.
Keith: One of the most beneficial things was sitting in a room with other people of the same rank and realise that we’re not facing these problems alone. We know that every jail has its own processes, but problems are the same – because we had different experience levels, from different prisons, we can help each other with possible solutions. There was a lot of information and idea sharing. Getting out of the normal prison environment with like-minded people, you can express what the problems are without any judgement.
I’m far more confident in the impact I can personally have – not just in my team but across my establishment as a whole.
How has the ChangeMakers programme supported you to become a better leader?
Sandra: Seeing different approaches on prison visits during the programme was very insightful. When you don’t have something, you can’t see past that – but going to other prisons and seeing the approach they take to tackling some of the issues we also face, it lets you know that there is a different way you can do things if you look outside of the box. It opened my eyes to great opportunities and how we can potentially implement that in our different establishments.
I’ve been able to share things from the visits with my staff which has allowed them to be more hopeful and innovative. As custodial managers, if we have hope that we can bring change, we can have an effect on the senior leadership team above us and the staff we manage.
Keith: One of the biggest impacts I’ve seen is with staff-prisoner relationships, and I’ve had a big impact on that. I’ve gotten out there and provided real-time feedback to staff and prisoners – whether it’s praise or constructive. I’ve had to lead from the front as a role model which then feeds back into the staff that I line manage. When you take ownership of things, it prompts other people to take ownership of their own actions as well, and my own approach is more positive now.
How did the programme support you to drive change?
Keith: I’m more confident in my own ability, and I’m far more confident in the impact I can personally have – not just in my team but across my establishment as a whole. It’s helped massively to have different variations of approaches on the programme. We had practice sessions but also group discussions and guest speakers with a wide variety of topics and discussion points. Nothing’s ever the same. It’s always interesting and I have got something out of every single session – either personally or to share with other people. The assessments were crucial as well, as they made me accountable and gave me that extra drive to maintain my focus on the topics.
Sandra: The assessments that we completed as part of the programme allowed me to realise that every moment is a learning moment. Even in small interactions, you’re able to teach and have impact. It’s about using every opportunity to teach and be taught new things – not only with other members of staff but with prisoners as well. With the supervision model we use at Unlocked, it highlights the importance of sharing problems to solve them.
Find out more about the Unlocked ChangeMakers programme on our website.