• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Good Book of Prisons

What's good in prisons across England & Wales

The Butler Trust
  • The Introduction
  • The Overall Findings
  • The Individual Prisons
  • The Media
  • The Book

Doncaster

Location: South Yorkshire
Date of visit: 26 September 2018
Visit number: 51
Prison type: [glossary-ignore]Category B Local[/glossary-ignore]
Capacity: 1145
Opened: 1994
Operator: Serco

OFFICERS

The Officers described a good rapport with prisoners (‘they don’t want to move’), a culture of ‘thank you’s (read aloud at monthly full staff meetings), and Serco’s ‘strong’ staff recognition (locally and nationally). They praised staff communication and consultation by the Director – including monthly meetings of staff reps from every area. They liked the annual staff family ‘fun day’ and ‘good training opportunities for a local’. Keywork had just started and was ‘excellent’. They said there was ‘good time out of cell’ for a local, and rated regular job fairs bringing in employers from outside. The ‘Families First’ programme supporting prisoners and their families was ‘excellent.’ Visits (7 days a week, weekly family visits, hot food etc) were highlighted, as was gym access and links to Doncaster Rovers (who came in monthly), as well as prisoners training as personal trainers. In-cell phones and Kiosks were valued, as was the PAL (Prisoner Advice Line).

MANAGERS

The managers agreed about the ‘strong sense of community’, and said staff were ‘very’ supportive of each other. They, too, valued staff recognition and ‘thank you’s, staff communications & consultation, and staff training & development. They highlighted the family ‘fun day’, the staff mess, and the staff Christmas Dinner (and vouchers). Green areas and flowers etc were ‘good for everyone’s mental health’. They also rated staff-prisoner relations, in-cell phones & Kiosks and the PAL advice line.

PRISONERS

The prisoners also valued Kiosks and in-cell phones and the PAL advice line, and called work around families, and the visits, ‘outstanding’ and ‘better than anywhere else’. The gym and its staff were ‘brilliant’ (including good access and facilities and the Doncaster Rovers’ Football Academy). They rated the range of peer support workers – and picked out violence reduction reps, who they said ‘help calm down’ situations and reduced bullying, for extra praise.

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Category: Local

Primary Sidebar

The Prisons

The Prisons

  • Altcourse
  • Ashfield
  • Aylesbury
  • Bedford
  • Belmarsh
  • Berwyn
  • Birmingham
  • Brinsford
  • Bristol
  • Brixton
  • Bronzefield
  • Buckley Hall
  • Bullingdon
  • Bure
  • Cardiff
  • Channings Wood
  • Chelmsford
  • Coldingley
  • Dartmoor
  • Deerbolt
  • Doncaster
  • Dovegate
  • Downview
  • Drake Hall
  • Durham
  • Eastwood Park
  • Elmley
  • Erlestoke
  • Exeter
  • Featherstone
  • Feltham B
  • Forest Bank
  • Foston Hall
  • Frankland
  • Full Sutton
  • Garth
  • Gartree
  • Grendon
  • Guys Marsh
  • Haverigg
  • Hewell
  • High Down
  • Highpoint
  • Hindley
  • Holme House
  • Hull
  • Humber
  • Huntercombe
  • Isis
  • Isle of Wight
  • Lancaster Farms
  • Leeds
  • Leicester
  • Lewes
  • Lincoln
  • Lindholme
  • Littlehey
  • Liverpool
  • Long Lartin
  • Low Newton
  • Lowdham Grange
  • Maidstone
  • Manchester
  • Moorland
  • New Hall
  • Northumberland
  • Norwich
  • Nottingham
  • Oakwood
  • Onley
  • Parc
  • Pentonville
  • Peterborough
  • Portland
  • Preston
  • Ranby
  • Risley
  • Rochester
  • Rye Hill
  • Send
  • Stafford
  • Stocken
  • Stoke Heath
  • Styal
  • Swaleside
  • Swansea
  • Swinfen Hall
  • Thameside
  • The Mount
  • The Verne
  • Usk
  • Wakefield
  • Wandsworth
  • Warren Hill
  • Wayland
  • Wealstun
  • Whatton
  • Whitemoor
  • Winchester
  • Woodhill
  • Wormwood Scrubs
  • Wymott

Footer

Author

Simon Shepherd has been Director of the Butler Trust since 2008 and has worked in and around prisons for the last three decades.

Butler Trust

The Butler TrustThe Butler Trust is an independent charity set up in 1985 to recognise and promote good practice in UK correctional settings.

Contact

Butler Trust

www.butlertrust.org.uk

info@butlertrust.org.uk

020 8688 6062

Copyright © 2021 The Butler Trust (registered charity no. 1145182)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.