For most teenagers heading out on their Duke of Edinburgh awards, it might involve trekking across a hillside, attempting to read a map the right way round, and then battling to pitch a tent in the pouring rain.
But for youngsters who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law, they could be completing their expedition under the stars in a prison yard.
Darren FletcherMorgan has already completed his Bronze award behind bars[/caption]
Darren FletcherYoung prisoners at HMP Pentonville, a category B prison in north London, can sign up for DofE[/caption]
Darren FletcherPrisoners complete their trek on a treadmill in the prison gym[/caption]
Last year 330,984 young people started work on their D of E awards – and 411 of those were prisoners behind bars.
The scheme was first launched by Prince Philip in 1956 and nowadays consists of youngsters clocking up hours to complete four sections: Volunteering, Physical, Skills and Expedition.
Morgan, 21, is serving his sixth stint in jail for drugs related offences and originally planned to see out his sentence by keeping his head down – a routine he has got used to by now.
When he arrived at HMP Pentonville last year he was offered a spot on the DofE group and reluctantly accepted as it was a way to spend more time outside his cell.
But a year later Morgan is now on track to get his Silver award and is determined that this will be his last time behind bars.
And having picked up cooking as part of the Skill segment of his DofE, he plans to become a chef once he gets out.
Morgan told The Sun: “When I came in here I thought what I’m doing now is clearly not working so I’ll try whatever I can, I’ve got options.
“Unfortunately this is my sixth time in jail. When I came back I thought I’d just keep my head down and get on with my time. It is what it is.”
He was convinced to join the DofE course as a way to spend more time out of his cell, and now has already completed his bronze award and is on track to get his silver.
“There are lots of skills, teamworking, cooking. I can use those in any walk of life,” he said.
“Volunteering I do most days of the week. I volunteer for the drug and alcohol scheme, I’m a mentor for them, I’m a mentor for a course called ‘Time For Change’ which is for young adults aged 18 to 25 and covers a whole range of topics.
“Not only has it kept me busy but it’s helped open my eyes and my mind to the future. I only knew what I did before this, crime etc, but now I can see there’s a whole world out there.
“I’m getting transferable skills so I can put those skills to use in something positive. I might even become a chef.”
Overall, 37 prisons and Young Offenders Institutes in England and Wales are now running the DofE partnership.
When prisoners have to complete their expedition they try to make it as close to a normal experience as possible behind bars.
For their trek the next cohort are walking the distance to Everest base camp – on the treadmills in the prison gym.
Elizabeth Dear, education manager at HMP Pentonville who runs the DofE scheme, explained they will be carrying backpacks and all the usual camping gear to make it as realistic as possible.
She said: “Although we can’t actually take them outside, I think to the best of our ability we’re trying to give them those skills and to upskill them in absolutely everything, to give them the best possible chance of employment when outside.”
Ruth Marvel, CEO of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “For young people in prison in particular, they often have missed out on education and they have had few opportunities to develop themselves, fewer opportunities to develop independence skills.
“For a lot of the young people here they haven’t achieved very much. So they haven’t had certificates, they haven’t got GCSEs, they haven’t had that experience of doing something and accomplishing it.”
Ian Blakeman, Prison Group Director for London, told The Sun: “The Duke of Edinburgh scheme is one of the ingredients which has gone into making Pentonville a safer and more purposeful place.
“At first, I was a bit sceptical how it would work in a Prison setting. I remember picking my daughter up from a rain swept hike when she did it. But I sat down with Elizabeth who explained how it was eminently transferable to Pentonville.
“It was quickly apparent that staff and prisoners alike were engaged by the scheme. I saw PE staff think imaginatively about how they could replicate the expeditions. And I really enjoyed watching how Elizabeth worked across different teams in the prison to find the right people to take part.”
Darren FletcherMorgan has been taking cookery classes in prison as part of the scheme[/caption]
Darren FletcherCEO of DofE Ruth Marvel says the award gives prisoners a sense of achievement[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
