Levelling the Playing Field partners with Novus to support youth in prison custody
August 6, 2021
The UK's Levelling the Playing Field (LtPF) has partnered with prison education provider, Novus, to offer children in sport and physical activity opportunities in custody and after their release.
LtPF uses the power of sport and physical activity to engage and improve health and life outcomes for ethnically diverse children who are more likely to enter, or already involved with, the Criminal Justice System.
The new partnership will see specially selected, trained and experienced sports organisations work with residents in HMYOI (Her Majesty’s Young Offender Institution) Cookham Wood in Kent, HMYOI Werrington in Staffordshire and HMYOI Wetherby, West Yorkshire with potential for expansion to additional locations.
LtPF already operates within five cities across England and Wales and aims to engage over 11,200 children. Its goals are to increase the number of ethnically diverse children taking part in sport and physical activity and prevent and divert ethnically diverse children from being involved within the Criminal Justice System.
Steve Byrne, Director of Youth Justice at Novus said: “This collaborative approach is not only enhancing the onsite delivery for children but also bridging a gap in the community. In supporting the transition back to the community these partnerships can make a real difference to reducing reoffending and supporting the child to make a valuable contribution to their communities.”
It will offer coaching and support that is learner-centred, which means that it is based on young people’s feedback on the types of sport and activities they want to take part in. On release, young people will then attend LtPF sessions in their area and/or be able to attend sessions run by sport providers externally that they worked with whilst in custody.
This support will play an important part in young people’s resettlement back into the community, giving them access to sport and physical activity, mentoring support, helping to divert them from negative influences and enabling them to form and continue relationships with trusted adult role models.
As well as its many benefits for young people, the partnership has already had a positive impact on the partners themselves.
“The project has fostered collaboration between education, gym and healthcare departments of the different secure establishments who are involved,” said Novus Sport and Enrichment Coordinator, James Thomas. “They have all started sharing best practice and discussing what works and what doesn’t, which is extremely positive.”
“It also enables us to incorporate young people’s passions around sport and physical activity into their resettlement plans. We can start to look more carefully at linking them up with community clubs and organisations alongside education and employment opportunities, to give them a more holistic package of support which decreases the likelihood of reoffending.”
Sports Connect, which uses sport and education programmes to engage young people whilst they’re inside prison will deliver the programme in HMYOI Cookham Wood. Climb Unity, a non-profit initiative by 3RD ROCK to increase the diversity within climbing, will be the partner in HMYOI Wetherby. While a potential partner has been identified for HMYOI Werrington, they are yet to be confirmed.