RIFT Social Enterprise

Andy had the pleasure of attending the Employer Engagement Event at HMP Foston Hall with Deb Proctor, one of RIFT Social Enterprises most valued supporters.

The women prepared and served an impressive meal, showcasing not only their food and hospitality skills but also the confidence, professionalism and potential they can bring to the workplace.

RIFT Social Enterprise is also supporting women at Foston Hall through our digital self-employment workbook, available on Virtual Campus 2. It gives women the opportunity to explore whether self-employment could offer them a realistic route forward, and to begin developing their ideas while still in custody.

Events like this give employers the chance to look beyond someone’s past and see what they could contribute in the future. For women leaving prison, that opportunity to be seen differently can be the beginning of real change.

Thank you to Katie Stanley and everyone at HMP Foston Hall, The Right Course, Café Amisha, Port Vale FC, Friends of Foston and the other organisations involved in creating such a purposeful evening.

And, as always, a huge thank you to Deb for continuing to believe in RIFT Social Enterprise and all of the people we support.

Andy caught up with Kath, our Criminal Justice Lead, today at the brilliant Secret Diner outside HMP Sudbury.

We talked about her new role, what we are learning from our work in prisons and where RIFT Social Enterprise goes next.

There is a real opportunity for us to build on the presence we already have across the prison system.

Not simply by getting into more prisons but by developing stronger relationships, listening to what individual prisons need and making specialist self-employment support a meaningful part of the employment offer for people in custody and after release.

Kath’s new role gives us more capacity to do exactly that.

There is plenty happening already, and plenty more we want to do, across the UK and, increasingly, further afield.

Very exciting times ahead for RIFT Social Enterprise, and if you happen to be near HMP Sudbury, the Secret Diner is definitely worth a visit. ☕

Another women’s prison. Another huge opportunity for us to make self-employment a genuine route forward.

We are absolutely delighted to announce that RIFT Social Enterprise is bringing our specialist, award winning self-employment support to HMP Bronzefield.

Having already worked extensively with some of the incredible women at HMP Eastwood Park and HMP Send, we have seen first hand just how powerful self-employment support can be for women preparing for release.

For some, conventional employment can present real barriers. Self-employment offers another route. A chance to take existing skills, experience and ideas and turn them into something sustainable.

At HMP Bronzefield, the women will be able to access RIFT’s self-employment training digitally through VC2, giving them the opportunity to explore whether starting a business could be right for them and begin developing their ideas while still in custody.

But the part we are particularly pleased about is what happens next.

We will also be supporting five women through the gate, building the relationship before release and continuing that mentoring and practical support as they return to the community.

Because if employment on release is the outcome, we need to design the support backwards from that outcome. Release cannot be where the relationship ends.

A huge thank you to Polly Roberts and the team at HMP Bronzefield for believing in what RIFT can bring and for sharing our ambition to give women a genuine route into self-employment and business ownership.

We cannot wait to meet the women, hear their ideas and help turn them into businesses.

HMP Eastwood Park, HMP Send and now HMP Bronzefield. Our work supporting women into self-employment continues to grow.

SocialEnterprise

25 FULLY FUNDED prison licences available.

We are pleased to announce that RIFT Social Enterprise has secured funding to offer 25 prisons a fully funded 12 month licence to access our digital Self-Employment Workbook, available through Coracle.

This means learners in prison can access 21 guided learning hours of practical, accredited, self-employment learning directly from their Coracle device, at no licence cost to the prison for the first year.

Our workbook has been developed and written by prisoners and is designed specifically for people who may never have considered self-employment before.

It takes learners step by step through everything from exploring an idea and understanding customers, to pricing, tax, finances and building a realistic plan for release.

We already work with many prisons across the country and this funding gives us an opportunity to open the door to 25 more establishments.

No digital licence cost for the first 12 months.
No new platform to introduce.
No complicated implementation.
Access is through Coracle.

For some people leaving prison, traditional employment roles may not suit them. Self-employment can offer another route but people need the right knowledge, preparation and support to explore it properly.

If you work in a prison, education department, employment team or resettlement service and think this could benefit the people you support, get in touch and we can provide the details.

“I was worried it would be information overload.”

That’s something we hear a lot when our participants start thinking about self-employment. There’s so much to learn and it can quickly feel overwhelming.

That’s why we created RIFT Bitesize.

Short, focused sessions that help people tackle one thing at a time, at the point they need it.

This participant took part every day and found that rather than being too much, it made the whole process much easier to manage.

Simple. Practical. Useful.

Because great support shouldn’t overwhelm people. It should help and encourage them to move forward.

Want to see what Bitesize could do for your participants? Get in touch.

What happens when prison education has to do more with less?

That is the challenge facing prisons across the UK today.

The rollout of the new Prison Education Service has reduced planned education delivery by an average of around 25%. Fewer learning hours. Tougher choices. More people missing vital opportunities to prepare for life after release.

One thing hasn’t changed. People still leave prison needing the skills, confidence and belief to build a different future.

At RIFT Social Enterprise, we believe self-employment should be an integral part of this journey.

That is why we’ve partnered with NEC Digital Studio to transform our award winning, IOEE endorsed Self-Employment Workbook into a fully interactive digital learning programme delivered through Virtual Campus.

It enables prisons to:

• Deliver high quality enterprise education immediately

⁠• Support learners independently, including in cell where appropriate

• Reach far more learners than traditional classroom models alone

• Provide certificates, reporting and a seamless pathway into Through the Gate support

One learner told us:

“Before starting I wasn’t sure I was confident in starting a business… now I feel confident. The course gave me confidence and I feel well prepared to make a go of it.”

Technology will never replace great educators.

But it can remove barriers, extend opportunity and ensure that education reaches more people, even when precious resources are under even greater pressure.

We’re so incredibly proud to be working alongside NEC Digital Studio to demonstrate what is possible when digital innovation and social purpose come together.

If we are serious about reducing reoffending, we have to be equally serious about expanding access to meaningful education.

The uncomfortable truth is that recall figures are no longer just a prison issue. They are a measure of how well society supports people after release.

13,193 people were recalled to prison in just three months.

That’s a 31% increase on the same period last year.

Even more striking, more people were recalled to custody than were released from prison.

Many recalls are not for new offences. They happen because people breach the conditions of their licence, often against a backdrop of homelessness, poor mental health, addiction or a lack of meaningful opportunities.

Every recall represents another person returning to an already overcrowded prison system. It also represents another opportunity missed.

At RIFT Social Enterprise, we see every day what can happen when people are given practical support, confidence and a realistic route towards self employment and financial independence.

Employment is not just about earning a wage. It is about purpose, stability, routine and hope.

If we are serious about reducing recalls, we have to invest in what happens after the prison gate opens, not just what happens behind it.

Supporting people to rebuild their lives is not a soft option. It is one of the smartest investments we can make in unlocking potential, reducing reoffending and building stronger communities

Twenty five years ago Andy walked through these gates as a Probation Officer. Today he’s walking back through them, while his daughter prepares to walk through prison gates for the first time.

Andy is at HMP Fosse Way today to begin his new role on the Employment Advisory Board, on a site that holds so many memories.

Back then, this was HMYOI Glen Parva and Andy was a Probation Officer here. A lot has changed since, but prisons and the people who live and work in them have remained a constant thread throughout his career.

It also feels particularly timely that RIFT Social Enterprise has just started our new Self-Employment Champions Programme at Fosse Way, creating Prisoner Champion roles and making practical, tailored self-employment support available to more people across the prison.

But there’s another reason today feels special.

Andys daughter Georgie is attending a Serco Prison Officer Assessment Day today, hoping to take her own first step into a career in prisons.

Working in prisons is tough. It tests your patience, resilience and judgement. But it can also be one of the most interesting and rewarding careers you can have.

You meet people at difficult points in their lives and, every now and then, you get the opportunity to play a small part in helping someone change direction.

After Andys career spent working in and around prisons, there’s something very special about seeing the next generation considering doing the same.

We are delighted to be working with the four Groundwork West Midlands Restart teams from Walsall, Tipton, Halesowen and Dudley and on Friday we shared how RIFT Social Enterprise is changing the way we provide our specialist support to help people explore and progress into self-employment.

Andy showcased our newest service, the RIFT AI Self-Employment Suitability Tool which is evidencing a 90% success rate, helping identify people with the characteristics and potential to make their self-employment journey a success.

And our RIFT Bitesize sessions mean support can be tailored to people depending where they are on their journey. Someone exploring whether self-employment is right for them needs different support from someone who already has an idea and needs help with pricing, funding or competitor analysis.

Not everyone needs a course. Not everyone needs the same level of support.

A huge thank you to everyone at Groundwork West Midlands for the warm welcome and the great enthusiasm.

Rhys has been out and about again, this time visiting the Ingeus Restart team in Tower Hamlets to talk to staff and participants about our RIFT Social Enterprise Bitesize Self-Employment support.

The idea behind Bitesize is simple: People do not always need a lengthy course. Sometimes they just need the right advice, on the right subject, at the right time.

Our short, focused sessions cover practical topics including testing a business idea, pricing, finding customers, tax and HMRC,accessing funding and navigating the gig economy.

The Bitesize sessions work for people who are simply curious about self-employment, as well as those already trading who need some extra support.

Online or face to face. One session or several. It’s practical self-employment support people can actually use.

Thanks to the Ingeus Restart Tower Hamlets team for inviting Rhys and helping us get the right support in front of more people.