HMP LINDHOLME Prison Regime Info

Online Library documents for HMP LINDHOLME

UNLOCKING TIMES

Mon: 08:20 - 12:30, 13:40 - 18:40
Tue: 08:20 - 12:30, 13:40 - 18:40
Wed: 08:20 - 12:30, 13:40 - 18:40
Thu: 08:20 - 12:30, 13:40 - 18:40
Fri: 08:20 - 12:30 & 13:40 - 17:00
Sat: 10:30 - 11:45 & 13;40 - 17:00
Sun: 09:00 - 11:45 & 13;40 - 17:00
 

ASSOCIATION

Mon: 17:00 - 18:30
Tue: 17:00 - 18:30
Wed: 17:00 - 18:30
Thu: 17:00 - 18:30
Fri: 13:40 - 17:00
Sat: 10:30 - 11:45 & 13:40 - 17:00
Sun: 09:00 - 11:45 & 13:40 - 17:00
 

HEALTH & SPORTS

Sports available include;

• Badminton
• Basketball
• Circuit Training
• Exercise Referrals
• Football
• Over 50s
• Soft Tennis
• Sports Field
• Volleyball
• Weight Loss Programme
• Weight Training

LIBRARY

Every day and 4 evenings during association - if staff are available.

FAITH

Every prison has a Chaplaincy department managed by a Co-ordinating Chaplain and supported by admin staff, other Chaplains and ‘Sessional Chaplains’ (faith leaders who visit for specific services or sessions). The Chaplaincy is considered an important part of the prison structure. When a prisoner arrives at a prison they are usually seen by a Chaplain within 24 hours and are invited to register as a specific religion (if they haven’t already done so) and can change their declared religion at any time.

The Chaplaincy does far more than just pastoral care; they often are able to lend radios, musical instruments and typewriters; they may take part in Sentence Planning and are available as a ‘listening ear’ and are able, sometimes, to help with domestic problems. Most Chaplaincies run various courses and activities which may or may not have a religious theme. Every prisoner has the right to follow their religious practices and attend Chapel for services pertaining to their declared faith (even when segregated).

The Chaplaincy are able to organise faith activities for all main religions (as recognised by the Prison Service; this does not, at present include Rastafarian as a specific religion) and contact faith representatives to visit individual or groups of prisoners for the purpose of religious activities. The chaplaincy can also intercede on matters of religious dress, diet and artefacts. A full list of permitted artefacts can be found in the Glossary Section under Religious Artefacts.

You can contact the Chaplaincy by letter or by telephoning the main prison number and asking to speak to the Chaplaincy. The Chaplaincy works as part of the prison and cannot, therefore, guarantee confidentiality (they can explain this to you in detail). Prisoners can contact the Chaplaincy in person or by Application.

Chaplaincy Statement of Purpose (HMPS)
The Chaplaincy is committed to serving the needs of prisoners, staff and religious traditions by engaging all human experience. We will work collaboratively, respecting the integrity of each tradition and discipline. We believe that faith and the search for meaning directs and inspires life, and are committed to providing sacred spaces and dedicated teams to deepen and enrich human experience. We contribute to the care of prisoners to enable them to lead law-abiding and useful lives in custody and after release.

The Co-ordinating Chaplain at Lindholme is: David Palmer

Full-time Anglican, Catholic and Muslim Chaplains.

Buddhist, Hindus and Sikhs meet weekly 

Facilities for other faiths are provided on request.

HEALTHCARE

Specialist Clinics

• CPN: Daily
• Dentist: Twice weekly
• InReach Availability: Daily
• Optician: Every two weeks
• Physio: Every 2 weeks
• Podiatry: Monthly
• Stop Smoking: Twice weekly

There is a doctor's clinic Monday - Friday 

NHS Healthcare Information for Lindholme

Prison Healthcare Manager: Nicky Wraith
Tel: 01302 524867

PCT: Doncaster Primary Care Trust
Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority
 

EDUCATION

EDUCATION PROVIDER
The Manchester College
The Manchester College, Offender Learning Directorate, Fielden Compus, Burlow Manor Road M1 3HB
Tel: 0800 068 8585

Career Information & Advice Services (CIAS)
Working Links
Head office: Unicorn House, Bromley, Kent BR1 1NX
Tel: 020 8212 8255
 

Courses include;

• Art
• Basic Education
• English
• ESOL
• Life and Social Skills
• Literacy
• Maths
• Media and Graphic Design
• Numeracy
• Open University
• Using Computers (Levels 1 - 3)

Skills for Life courses in literacy and numeracy, GCSE and A level English and Maths, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages, Information Technology from entry level to CISCO qualifications in building computers, business administration, and business start-up, media and graphic design. Reprographic and printing, visual art, NVQs in catering, bakery, hospitality, hairdressing and barbering, BICS and NVQ in industrial cleaning, construction industry training in trowel trades, plastering, painting and decorating, carpentry, plumbing, maintenance operations, and civil engineering. Fork lift training, light engineering and NVQ Railway Engineering. Horticulture and grounds maintenance training including vermiculture and waste management. Textiles, and a range of PE courses including NVQ Sport and Leisure and gym instructor awards.

Food Hygiene, Health and Safety and a variety of social and life skills courses including Family Learning, and Drug and Alcohol Awareness are also available.
 

OFSTED INSPECTION

OFSTED inspect education establishments from schools to colleges to prisons. They inspect education facilities within prisons and have inspected HMP Lindholme.

Inspection judgements
Inspectors use a four-point scale to summarise their judgements about achievement and standards, the quality of provision, and leadership and management, which includes a grade for equality of opportunity.

Key for inspection grades

• Grade 1 Outstanding;
• Grade 2 Good;
• Grade 3 Satisfactory;
• Grade 4 Inadequate.

Click Here for further information on how inspection judgements are made.
 

Scope of the inspection
In deciding the scope of the inspection, inspectors take account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and comments from the local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) or other funding body. Where appropriate, inspectors also consider the previous inspection report , reports from the inspectorates’ monitoring visits, and data on learners and their achievements over the period since the previous inspection.

OFSTED NUMBER: 52305
Last Inspection Date: 29/10/2007

Summary of grades awarded

Achievement and standards: 2
Capacity to improve: 3
Effectiveness of provision: 3
Employability training: 2
Equality of opportunity: 3
Leadership and management: 3
Literacy, numeracy and ESOL: 2
Personal development and social integration: 3
Quality of provision: 2

To read their report click here

Fly Away Success

Click Here to Read what Nina Champion; Learning Matters Project Manager with the Prisoners Education Trust, said about her visit to Lindholme's education unit in the November 2011 Education Supplement in Insidetime.

 

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Prison Workshops

Employment includes;

• Bakery
• Bricklaying
• Building Maintenance
• Car Mechanics
• Catering
• Computer Animation
• Computer Maintenance
• Decorating
• Gardening
• Graphic design
• Groundworks
• Hair Dressing and Barbering
• Horticulture
• Industrial Cleaning
• Metal Fabrication
• Painting and Decorating
• Plastering
• Recycling
• Sports Studies
• Welding & Metal Fabrication

Unitisation (approved external qualification) Entry Level, Preparation for Life and Work (SSA 14) - ESOL

Current Wages

Employed: From £7 to £30
Retired: £3.75
Long term sick: £3.75

There is a wide variation in the pay structure at Lindholme because of the diversity of activities. Generally the rates are between £5.00 and £15.00 per week with rates up to £30 for certain activities.

OFFENCE FOCUSED COURSES

• CARATS
• P-ASRO
• TSP

RESETTLEMENT

• Job club
• Job Centre+
• Self employment classes

Shelter
Shelter is an accommodation advocacy within HMP Lindholme and will assist prisoners who have housing problems, from being of 'no fixed abode' through to rent arrears or council tenancy problems.

SOVA
SOVA are an employment/training advocacy within the HMP Lindholme Interventions section. The staff work with prisoners giving advice and guidance. They will also look at the oprisoner's current skills & capabilities offering career advice and options that are available to them. The staff will assist the prisoner in finding suitable employment or training courses for release, taking into account any skills and qualifications that have been achieved in custody.
 

FAMILY DAYS

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

PRISON PERFORMANCE
Ministry of Justice Performance Rating for this prison: 3
This is on a scale from 1 (serious concerns) to 4 (Exceptional) and is worked out by the Ministry of Justice taking into account 34 criteria such as overcrowding, purposeful activities etc. A score of 3 is considered a good performance. Published quarterly.

Average weekly hours of Purposeful Activity: 23.4 (2010)
This figure is supplied by each prison to the Prison Service. Actual hours are usually dependent on activities etc. and should be taken as the maximum time either in workshops or education over a whole week.
Both of these figures are published retrospectively by the MoJ and HMPS and may have changed since the figures were published but they give a simple comparison between prisons.
 

PRISON BUDGET

Figures refer only to the prison section
Annual Budget: £18,300,000 (2011-12)*
Approx cost per prisoner place (2010): £32,757
*The annual budget allocated to the governor covers all major costs of running the prison but excludes most costs related to education and healthcare.
 

Parliamentary Information
CONSTITUENCY: Don Valley
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: Caroline Flint (Labour)

Prisoners may write to either their ‘Home MP’ or the MP in whose constituency their current prison lies.
The address to write to is:
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephones
Most prisons now have PIN phones. Your relative or friend usually needs to apply to have your name and number on his/her telephone account. You will usually receive a call from the prison to check who you are and to ensure you are happy for them to call you. Prisoners cannot receive telephone calls.

There is no restriction on who prisoners can call except in the case of calls to journalists intended to be broadcast. In some cases child protection measures may mean extra checks on who they call.

Prisoners can normally make calls only during ‘association’ periods. Some prisons limit the length of time a call can last to avoid queues and people being disappointed. Prisoners’ telephone calls are very expensive; calls to landlines now cost 10p per minute and 37.5 p to mobiles (compared to 2p in a public phone box). In most prisons the phone calls can be listened to and/or recorded.

If a prisoner is newly convicted or transferred they should be offered an immediate ‘Reception’ phone call to tell you where they are. It may take a few days for numbers to be transferred or added.

Letters
When you write to a prisoner you must include your full name and address. In most prisons the letters are searched and can be read before being given to the prisoner.

You can write about anything but letters must not be obscene, name ‘victims’, or be a threat to discipline or security. Do not enclose any items with letters. Make sure you put sufficient postage to cover the costs (anything bigger than A5 counts as ‘large’). Prisoners can normally receive a ‘reasonable’ number of letters per week.

If you send greetings cards these should be of reasonable size and not padded or pouched. Do not send musical cards. If you are sending more than one card put them all inside one outer envelope, this saves postage. Remember to include your full details (you could put your details on a ‘Post-It’ note stuck to the card or include a letter which has your details).

Always put the prisoner’s full name and prison number. If the person has been moved their mail will be forwarded.

On conviction or transfer a prisoner should be given a ‘Reception’ letter to write to tell you where they are.

Prisoners are given a free letter each week to post out, they can send more, but at their own expense. Some prisons allow you to send in stamps.

Photographs
You can usually send in photographs but in some prisons these must not include any image of the prisoner. Child protection measures may mean that some prisoners may not receive pictures of children, unless they are their own and were not ‘victims’. If you send pictures of children include an explanatory note identifying who the children are and their relationship to the prisoner.

Money
It is not a good idea to send cash, this can get ‘lost’ in the prison. Prisons prefer postal orders, but you could send a cheque. Make these payable to ‘H M Prison Service’, write your name on the back and also the prisoner’s full name and prison number. Any money sent which is deemed to be ‘anonymous’ can be stopped.
Money you send is paid into the prisoner’s ‘Private Cash’ account and they get access to a certain amount (depending upon IEP) each week [currently £15.50 for Standard prisoners].

Visits
For full information about visits please refer to our ‘Visit Info’ section for this prison. Visits are very important to prisoners. At most prisons you may not give any item to the prisoner. Any items you wish to give them must usually be posted to the prison, and often after the prisoner has placed an ‘application’ for authorisation to have it sent in. The items which can be posted in are very limited. Check with the prisoner first and wait until they confirm that you can post it.

Emergencies
If there is a serious emergency - close family serious illness, death, or other reason you need to inform the prisoner immediately, you should telephone the main prison number and explain the problem to the operator who will transfer you to the appropriate person. If you are unhappy about their response redial and ask to speak to the Chaplaincy. Prison staff will not pass on general messages but only critical and very urgent messages. You should provide full details of the prisoner including their number.

Support and Advice
There are many very good charities and agencies who offer support and advice to people with family or friends in prison. We have a special section ‘Help/Support’ which has details and contact information for many of these. Do not hesitate or feel shy about calling any of these; they are there to offer support and advice.

EMAIL A PRISONER
This service operates at this prison. Email a Prisoner enables you to send messages to prisoners, in the UK and Irish prisons that operate the service, from any computer, without any of the hassles of writing and posting a letter, and it costs less than a second class stamp!

Your message is delivered to the prison within seconds so that it can be delivered to the prisoner by the prison staff in the next delivery.

It is free to sign up to Email a Prisoner and only takes a few seconds - all you need is an email address (EMaP can help you if you don't have an email address).

Once a member you will be able to send a message to any prisoner in the UK or Ireland, provided you know their prisoner number, from just 25 pence per message.

Click Here for link to Email a Prisoner website
 

The Prison Service say;

"HMP Lindholme provides an environment that allows prisoners to feel safe, secure and supported in all aspects of their life. To ensure a safe and decent environment is delivered, violence reduction, anti-bullying, suicide prevention, diversity and incentive and earned privileges strategies are well developed, embedded and continuously monitored for improvement to provide support for prisoners. All of the above is underpinned by an effective personal officer scheme.

"HMP Lindholme is an establishment that provides a service for adult male prisoners of all ages and sentence length. Prisoners serving life sentences are resident at Lindholme having progressed successfully through their sentence. They are fully supported by lifer trained staff and a central lifer department. Prisoners at Lindholme are encouraged to participate fully in contributing to the development of the establishment and provide ideas and support through varying consultative and support meetings.

"As well as providing a safe and secure environment for prisoners, HMP Lindholme provides education, practical work skill training and support programmes to help prisoners develop skills, attitudes and personal goals that will assist them to become law abiding and positive contributors to society."

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP)

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales (HMI Prisons) is an independent inspectorate which reports on conditions for, and treatment of, those in prisons, young offender institutions and immigration detention facilities. They provide independent scrutiny of the conditions for and treatment of prisoners and other detainees, promoting the concept of 'healthy prisons' in which staff work effectively to support prisoners and detainees to reduce reoffending or achieve other agreed outcomes.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) is appointed from outside the Prison Service, for a term of five years. The Chief Inspector reports to Ministers on the treatment of prisoners and conditions in prisons in England and Wales.

The Inspectorate’s programme of inspection is based on a mixture of chronology and risk assessment. Full inspections run on a five or three year cycle; all unannounced follow-up inspections run on a risk-assessed basis.

Full inspections
Prison establishments holding adults and young adults are inspected once every five years. Establishments holding juveniles are inspected every three years. This type of inspection lasts for at least one week. The Inspectorate collects information from many sources, including the people who work there, the people who are imprisoned or detained there, and visitors or others with an interest in the establishment. Inspection findings are reported back to the establishment’s managers. Reports are published within 16 weeks of inspection. The establishment is then expected to produce an action plan, based on the recommendations made within the report, within a short period following publication.

Full follow-up inspections
Follow-up inspections are unannounced and proportionate to risk. In full follow-up inspections inspectors assess progress made and undertake in-depth analysis of areas of serious concern identified in the previous full inspection, particularly on safety and respect.

Short follow-up inspections
Short follow-up inspections are also unannounced and conducted where the previous full inspection and their intelligence systems suggest that there are comparatively fewer concerns.

Escort inspections
Three escort inspections are conducted every year.

Pre-inspection visit
One month prior to each full announced inspection, an inspector will visit the establishment to plan the inspection and request a range of preliminary information. In addition, researchers will attend to conduct a confidential survey of a representative proportion of the prisoner population. Results from the prisoner survey are provided for inspectors prior to the inspection and constitute an important source of evidence.

The inspection
All inspections are conducted against the Inspectorate's published inspection criteria, 'Expectations'. Expectations' are based on international human rights standards, as well as Prison Service Orders and Standards, and over all issues considered essential to the safe, respectful and purposeful treatment of prisoners in custody and their effective resettlement.
'Expectations' is the document which sets out the detailed criteria HMI Prisons uses to appraise and inspect prisons. These criteria are used to examine every area of prison life, from reception to resettlement, including;

• safer custody
• health services
• good order
• work
• diversity
• resettlement

The concept of a healthy prison is one that was first set out by the World Health Organisation, but it has been developed by this Inspectorate, and is now widely accepted as a definition of what ought to be provided in any custodial environment. It rests upon four key tests:

• safety: prisoners, even the most vulnerable, are held safely
• respect: prisoners are treated with respect for their human dignity
• purposeful activity: prisoners are able, and expected, to engage in activity that is likely to benefit them
• resettlement: prisoners are prepared for release into the community, and helped to reduce the likelihood of reoffending

Post-inspection action
Inspection reports are published within 16 weeks of the inspection. Prior to publication, the Prison Service (or whoever is responsible for the establishment) is invited to correct any factual inaccuracies within the report. The establishment is then expected to produce an action plan, based on the recommendations made in the report, within two months of publication. A progress report on the action plain is produced after a further 12 months.

HMCIP REPORT
Last Inspection by HMCIP: 18 – 20 January 2011 - Unannounced short follow-up inspection
Report Dated: April 2011
Published: June 22nd 2011

They said:
“HMP Lindholme, near Doncaster, is a large category C training prison for adult males. It also has responsibility for the adjacent immigration removal centre, on which we have reported separately. When we last visited, we were particularly concerned by significant shortfalls in a number of aspects of safety. On our return, for this unannounced follow-up inspection, we found a much safer establishment, appropriately focused on its training function, but still with a number of areas requiring further development.

“ Staff and prisoners made clear that Lindholme was now a much safer prison. Early days in custody still required better management, but generally safer custody arrangements were improved with good care for those at risk of self-harm and a robust approach to violence and bullying. Security had also improved, reflected in a reduction in the previously unacceptable levels of substance misuse. Moreover, managers and staff had been proportionate in their response to the security and safety issues they had faced and this was reflected in low use of adjudications, force and segregation.

“ The quality of accommodation remained satisfactory. Staff-prisoner relationships were positive, although personal officer work was inconsistent. A combination of limited resources and staff absences had impacted on a number of aspects of diversity, including provision for black and minority ethnic prisoners, foreign nationals, prisoners with disabilities and older prisoners. The quality of catering was poor. Health care facilities had improved but, again, a shortage of staff had impacted on provision.

“ Lindholme was a busy prison, with 90% of the population engaged in some form of purposeful activity. There was a reasonable amount of work and vocational training, some of high quality, and education provision was good. Both the library and gym facilities were well used. There remained a need to reinforce the strategic management of resettlement, but most aspects of offender management were sound, including sentence planning, public protection and categorisation arrangements. Work along the resettlement pathways varied. Commendably, staff and managers had addressed most of the weaknesses in safety that had concerned us on our previous inspection. Lindholme also remained an appropriately busy and purposeful training prison. However, there remained plenty of scope for further improvements, for example in diversity, catering and resettlement. These issues are detailed in the report, but the overall picture is one of solid progress.”

Nick Hardwick April 2011
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Michael Spurr,
Chief Executive Officer of the National Offender Management
Service (NOMS), said:
"I am pleased the Chief Inspector recognises the progress being made at Lindholme in this report. The report highlights the good work being done in relation to offender management, security, purposeful activity, and the positive staff-prisoner relationships.
"Enabling prisoners to have access to a range of activities and workshops reduces their chances of reoffending on release, thereby protecting the public."

Click here to read the full report

Previous Report
by HMCIP: November 2007 (Announced Full Inspection)

They said:
“HMP Lindholme, near Doncaster, is a category C training prison for adult males. Like many similar prisons, it has had to manage increasing numbers of prisoners with relatively few staff. Population pressures have also led to a high churn of prisoners and an influx of some who, previously, might have been held for longer in prisons with a higher security category. As a result, this full announced inspection found an establishment struggling with an increased number of violent incidents and a serious drugs problem, not helped by a huge perimeter which was hard to secure. On the positive side, both purposeful activity and resettlement were reasonable, but Lindholme badly needed a period of stability and a robust focus on safety, if these assets are to be maximised.

“Reception remained poor. First night and induction arrangements were adequate, although there was a lack of material in foreign languages. Suicide and self-harm prevention arrangements were generally sound. However, bullying and violence reduction were less well managed and there had been a significant number of incidents, together with increased concerns about drugs and mobile phones, which were overwhelming the small security department. As a result, use of force, adjudications and occupancy of the segregation unit were all high, and both staff and prisoners expressed concerns about safety.

“Staff-prisoner relationships were generally adequate, but were not supported by an effective personal officer scheme and the incentives and earned privileges scheme needed to be used more proactively to manage prisoner behaviour. Despite some sound systems to manage race issues, more effort was needed to convince black and minority ethnic prisoners that they were treated fairly at the establishment. Other aspects of diversity were less well developed, and services for foreign nationals were limited. Prisoners complained vociferously about the quality of the food, but we found it to be adequate. Health services needed to be further developed.

“The quality of learning and skills provision was generally good and there were some useful vocationally orientated work opportunities. There were also impressive physical education facilities. However, too many prisoners were under-employed for a training prison and the consequential boredom exacerbated poor behaviour.

“Resettlement arrangements were reasonable, despite some planning weaknesses. A start had been made on implementing the offender management model, but progress was impeded by a lack of offender supervisors. Sentence and custody plans were generally in place. Some good services were available to address prisoners’ needs along all of the resettlement pathways, although there was scope for further development.

“Lindholme faces an array of challenges, foremost among which are the need to improve safety, reduce the number of incidents of violence and stem the flow of illegal drugs into the prison. It is suffering the effects of its increased size and the population pressures in the prison system in general. There are shortfalls in a number of other areas, but there are also considerable strengths to build on, including some good quality purposeful activity and effective resettlement services. This is a demanding agenda, but with a new governor fully aware of the challenges, it is one which can, and indeed must, be addressed.”

Anne Owers January 2008
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Click here to read the full report

Independent Monitoring Board

By law every prison and immigration removal centre must have an Independent Monitoring Board. IMBs in prisons derive their responsibilities from the Prison Act 1952 (Section 6). Prison Rules dealing with IMBs are numbers; 74 to 80

IMBs were known as ‘Boards of Visitors’ and are still referred to in the legislation under their old titles, although this is likely to change in the near future.

The Independent Monitoring Board for each establishment is made up of independent and unpaid volunteers from the local area. They monitor the day-to-day life in the establishment and ensure that proper standards of care and decency are maintained. Members have unrestricted access to all areas of the prison at all times and can talk to any prisoner they wish, out of sight and hearing of a members of staff. They visit all areas such as; kitchens, workshops, accommodation blocks, recreation areas, healthcare centre and chaplaincy.

If a prisoner or detainee has an issue that they have been unable to resolve through the usual internal channels, they can place a confidential request to see a member of the IMB. Problems might include concerns over lost property, visits from family or friends, special religious or cultural requirements, or even serious allegations such as bullying. In addition, if something serious happens at the prison, for example a riot or a death in custody, IMB members may be called in to attend and observe the way in which it is handled.

IMB members sample food, can attend adjudications and should visit people held in the segregation unit. They must also be kept informed on such issues as the use of restraints.

The IMB meets regularly, usually once per month, and has an elected Chair and Vice Chair. Members work together as a team to raise any matters of concern and to keep an independent eye on the prison.

Last Update: November 2012