Training - Inside Out Support Wales

Specialist training for professionals in the field of criminal justice

Now booking in September: ‘Supporting People with a Criminal Record’ and ‘Working with a Client with a Sexual Conviction’.

Inside Out Support Wales are able to deliver training courses both in person and online using Zoom, Microsoft Teams or via our own web-based platform Webinarjam, if preferred.

We bring the unique aspect of both professional expertise and the lived experience of the criminal justice system to our training, meaning that our courses are both impactful and authentic.

Our Courses

Supporting People with a Criminal Record

Our most popular course which is designed for participants wanting to understand and learn the basic principles, and introduce some practical tools required to support a person who has a criminal record. It aims to offer advice and guidance and practical tools for you to support them going forward, such as volunteering, employment or education. It is informative, interactive and empowering – designed to offer a core level of knowledge and resources that can be used over and over again.

Participants will learn about:

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
When do individuals need to disclose about a previous conviction(s).
Best practice tools with disclosure.
Convictions as a USP – using the rehabilitation journey.
Where to go for support, guidance and further information.

Cost £75 per person
Wednesday 22nd September 1-3pm
Online through Zoom

Pathways on Release

Designed specifically to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and to support people recently released from prison. The course takes into account that ex-offenders released into the community can often access very little wellbeing support. Resources are often stretched which has made supporting a person released from prison extremely difficult for all agencies involved in the process. Pathways on Release focuses primarily on the individual’s wellbeing and how to remain positive and motivated during this time. Focusing on the individual’s strengths, rather than negatives can help achieve this, as will preparing them to take advantage of the opportunities that will arise as lockdown is eased.

Working with a Client with a Sexual Conviction

This webinar training course from The Lucy Faithfull Foundation is ideal for anyone working with clients who have a sexual conviction and wants to be informed and empowered to provide an improved service. It will be ideal for work coaches, employment advisors, support workers and anyone who receives referrals that could include those with a sexual conviction. The session will explain the prevalence of sexual convictions, understand the risks especially regarding re-offending, and offer some good practice suggestions to help inform your professional practice.

The session will include:

Context setting: the prevalence of child sexual abuse [CSA] in the UK; the typical relationships between those that abuse and their victims; etc.
The process of abuse (with reference to David Finkelhor’s four pre-conditions model).
Exploration of the motives of those who abuse and the needs the behaviour fulfils.
Risk: re-conviction rates; cross-over from online to offline sexual offending; factors associated with increased likelihood of re-offending.
Protective factors and the ‘Good Lives Model’ i.e. what helps people rebuild their lives in positive ways.
Useful resources for professionals.

Cost £100 per person
New date to be announced shortly
Online through Zoom

Why Employ Ex-offenders?

Did you know there are over 10.5 million people with a criminal record on the Police National Computer database, but only 8% of people that receive a conviction end up going to prison? Yet there are over 1.2 million individuals that receive a conviction every single year. However people with convictions are the least likely ‘disadvantaged group’ to be employed – only 12% of employers have knowingly employed one in the last three years. This presents a significant challenge to anyone supporting people who have a criminal conviction.

This training course will help give you a great understanding of the business, social and even moral benefits of employing people with convictions. You will learn and understand a great number of resources that you can help support individuals back into employment. Crucially it also considers the perspective from the other side of the fence – from a business perspective.

Working with ex-offenders has a whole range of benefits, including:

The benefits to business to consider employing ex-offenders are clear:

3 out of 4 people would be comfortable buying from a business that employs ex-offenders
Ex-offenders who get a job after prison are up to 9 percentage points less likely to reoffend
Offenders have relevant work experience; more than 11,000 serving prisoners are employed today, by over 300 businesses or government departments
Two thirds of companies that employ ex-offenders would recommend others do the same
79% of people think that businesses employing ex-offenders are making a positive contribution to society
92% of inclusive employers say it’s enhanced their reputation – often helping them win new contracts

Yet despite this, only 17% of ex-offenders manage to get a job within a year of release. Over half of employers struggle to fill vacancies due to skills shortages, according to The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Thinking outside the box about recruitment and exploring new talent pools can help overcome such challenges.

Personal Budgeting

This interactive training course shows you lots of top tips for how to budget, and starting to plan for your short, medium, and long term goals. Includes a few suggestions for how to create a budget, categorise your spending and set aside funds for the future. Feeling on top of your personal finances can be great for your mental health and budgeting is a key part of being good with money. The information within this training course is just as valid for people recently released from prison as it is anyone else. Book this training course for your clients, to help them learn some important and practical life skills.

Effective Disclosure

The issue of how to disclose a previous conviction is the ‘elephant in the room’ for many people when applying for work – especially those with unspent convictions. However, when done right, disclosing a previous conviction can be an effective tool to show how far you have come, and an example of significant personal growth. This training course shows you the do’s and don’ts of effective disclosure. Learn some very simple, useful – and memorable – ways to ensure that you improve your job search by developing your own effective disclosure technique. This will ensure you give yourself the best possible chance of employment after release.