Raising awareness of coaching in the third-sector: Coaching prison leavers

In April, for our Coaching Conversation, Sharon was joined by Breakthrough’s Founder and COE Dee Norval and COO Sarah Haville.  So many of you had lots of questions about coaching prison leavers and coaching in the third sector, that we asked Sarah and Tyrone (Life Coach) to write us a blog to share some more information with you all.

Over to Sarah and Tyrone…

Breakthrough works with prison leavers and those within six months of release from prison to support them into digital apprenticeships. We believe every prison leaver should have a pathway to employment that inspires them, with organisations and employers that support them in getting there. We use coaching in our prison programmes to support our participants alongside learning our technical curriculum. 

Here are some things we’ve learnt since coaching prison leavers:-

• Our coaches have lived experience of prison meaning our participants feel more comfortable being open about challenges, expectations, experiences of Breakthrough, and life impacting their Breakthrough involvement. They can also make a more realistic assessment of where the participant is at in their journey.
• Around the pure coaching sessions, having someone who is able to switch and complement between being a mentor (bringing in past experience) and using a coaching approach is really powerful to support ongoing progression and brainstorming ideas of how to work on some of the participant's individual goals. 
• The coaching relationship is a consistent personal relationship across Breakthrough from the start of the programme to the point of being in our alumni community. Evidence shows that a positive, continuous relationship can support prison leavers post prison and it builds trust with us as an organisation. 
• Individual participants vary a lot with their coaching engagement and their needs from it. We meet the participant where they are but follow a flexible weekly structure to our coaching, that loosely shadows and complements our programme curriculum so everyone has a broadly consistent foundation. 
• Coaching really supports participants in (re)building self-confidence, bringing enhanced self-awareness around life decisions and putting a tangible plan in place for life post prison. Breakthrough advocates for stable employment as this drastically reduces reoffending rates. 
• As with any population, there are challenges involved with coaching prison leavers. Maintaining engagement and adapting coaching activities and practices are key. Sometimes the coaching space may not be ideal coaching conditions so our coaches have to work with the resources available. Sometimes 1-2-1 coaching will be supplemented with group coaching conversations if learnings from challenges the participants are going through can benefit the wider group (within the context of confidentiality). 

Anyone reading this will hopefully already understand that coaching is rewarding work for both the coachee and the coach. In prison, this feeling can be magnified. When you are aware of the adversities our participants have faced and the changes they’ve had to make in their own lives and then you see them take an action from a coaching conversation or have their ‘lightbulb moment’ you know they are one small step further along their positive life journey.

Prison leavers need more coaches so if you've ever thought about coaching in the third sector, or considered coaching in prisons or with prison leavers, please do it. If this is something that you’re interested in, Breakthrough are always looking for volunteers. 

If you'd like to train to become a life coach and maybe using coaching skills in the third sector too, then we'd love to welcome you to join us on our free Introduction to Life Coaching webinar.

If you missed April’s Coaching Conversation, or you’d like a refresher, you can watch the recording below:-   

Bios

Tyrone Johnson: As a dedicated Life Coach, Tyrone's primary mission is to empower and support individuals in both prison and the community, assisting them in taking proactive steps towards achieving their goals. Through active listening and thoughtful questioning, Tyrone guides his clients in uncovering the necessary actions required to execute their aspirations. One of the key areas of focus in his coaching practice is building confidence. He firmly believes that confidence is a crucial foundation for personal growth and success. By addressing self-doubt and nurturing self-belief, he helps his clients develop a strong sense of confidence that propels them forward.

Sarah Haville: COO of Breakthrough and trained executive coach. Sarah was in the corporate sector for 8 years before pivoting into a rewarding career in social impact. Throughout all her roles, having benefited from great coaching in professional and personal settings, she is keen to ensure everyone in the Breakthrough community has access to a coach and that this part of their offering grows as Breakthrough does