GOALS for Offenders

"Thank you very much for such a fantastic training event. I Recommended you highly to the Irish prison when they rang to see if you were any good!!"    Merron Mitchell, Director of OLASS at City College Manchester

Helping to Reduce Re-Offending through Employment and Skills

‘Participate in this program if you have the opportunity, irrespective of your area of employment. It’s Excellent!’ HM Prisons Staff Education course 2007.

The GOALS programme has been designed to tackle the psychology of social exclusion. The organising themes of the work are to build independence, self-esteem, inner strength, personal awareness, self-motivation and purposefulness - helping people to get the job/life that they want. The programme has been running for 12 years in the UK, and is currently being offered in prisons across the UK.

The programme gives participants the desire to take up learning opportunities whilst in custody and to find a job or training following release, thereby helping to establish a firm foundation for a sustainable future career path. The programme works to generate aspirations and an approach to work, which makes disaffected people more amenable to employers. It offers conceptual frameworks and practical tools for individuals to manage their personal and career development. It does this through a series of 'step-by-step' exercises, which compel people to take stock and to take action to move their lives forward.

‘A fantastic, inspiring course with relevant content: A unique experience, absolutely wonderful.  Thank you.’ HMP Skills for Life Teacher, City College Manchester.

'This is a brilliant course and I would recommend it to everyone. It has helped me to realise I can achieve my goals and stay out of prison and not look back. I feel really good about myself.... I have learnt how to let go of blaming others and accept responsibility for my own choices in life' Male prisoner, 32.

Accreditations and Awards
OCN level 1 and 2
mapped to QCA progression Awards,
ASDAN
RARPA
Institute for Leadership and Management staff professional development awards
Approved by HMPS ( Granted by South West Regional Reducing re0offending Board)under the Guidelines of PSO 4350

Benefits of Goals
15 years experience in both custodial and community settings
Brief intervention (2-3 day) cognitive behavioural course
Designed to engage and motivate reluctant and hard to reach learners to want to learn
Courses available for both adult and young offenders
Multi media approach gives accessibility to those with learning difficulties
Linked directly to 7 pathways: ETE and Attitudes Thinking and Behaviour
Explicit skills and employability focus
A Powerful gateway course to all other learning
Strong ongoing Mentoring theme
Gives learners a central role in defining their own learning plan
Train the trainer programme offers added value to providers
An excellent staff development programme that produces committed and inspiring teachers
Increases learner engagement, course retention and completions
Increases learners soft skills in preparation for work
Powerful community links through leading national employment and training providers

Where Goals Fits
Ideal for Induction, sentence planning and short sentences
IAG
Peer led and tutor led Mentoring schemes
Pre resettlement
Prior to or following access to offender behaviour programmes
Probation and post release engagement

Who we can Support
Further Education Colleges
Training and Employment providers
Local authorities
YOS
Probation Services
HMPS
Prison Officer Training

A Training system for Staff and Students

‘The learning profile of offenders suggests that we need the most committed, imaginative and well motivated teachers pursuing a curriculum with structure, relevance and appeal.’ Robert Newman, Youth Justice Board.

'GOALS offers an exciting teacher support package that will invigorate and refresh staff to deal more effectively with a wide range of students whilst ensuring their own sustained well being.'

‘Thought provoking-inspirational and motivational-it makes sense of my feelings and fears and finds solutions to overcome barriers’.'

'I FOUND THIS COURSE LIFE CHANGING !!!!!. It has given me focus to my personal and professional life. At one point, I was in tears about how messed up my life really was. It highlighted issues in my life that I had previously not addressed, either because I did not recognise them or I did not want to address them. It made me look at where I was and where I wanted to be. For instance, I have decided to enrol in a degree course through the University of Portsmouth, which is something that I have always been frightened to do as I felt that I would fail. I now feel that I can do it and the course has given me the confidence to do it.  I have also looked at the 'baggage' that I carry around with me with regards to my father. Although it has not helped me solve the problems, as he has died, but it has given my the strength to get on with my life and to integrate my experiences and memories of him, into my life.  I cannot emphasise enough how valuable this course could be to my colleague and especially to offenders. It has the potential to reduce reoffending by getting the offenders to look at all the aspects of their lives and to really turn their lives around and to realise that they can do something to stop offending and the answer is in themselves, not in help from others.'    Nick HMPS

'The future to me starts today-now. This is the only course I have had the privileged to do in my entire sentence that really has a positive impact on me. And if this is the only thing to take back home with me, i wil always remain grateful. I recommend this course to every inmate-especially those that really need rehabilitation. Thanks for giving me this opportunity.’  Serving prisoner, HMP Risley, November 2007

To find out more please download our Offender brochure or contact us directly to discuss or to arrange a pilot in your district.