The prison bakery helping ex-offenders move away from a life of crime is celebrating after picking up two prestigious awards. Bad Boys’ Bakery at HM Prison Brixton, born out of TV show ‘Gordon Behind Bars’ and turned into a social enterprise by Working Links, has won two Adult Learners’ Week awards.
The Bakery has won the European Social Fund national project award, while former baker Chris McKay picked up the European Social Fund individual award for the London region.
Gordon behind bars
In Gordon Behind Bars, aired on Channel 4 in 2012, prisoners developed key baking skills under the stewardship of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his team, giving them employability skills needed to gain work on release. And since filming finished, employment and skills experts Working Links has continued the good work of the Bakery by turning it into a Community Interest Company.
The Boys are trained to industry standards in food quality and safety, including NVQ Levels 1 and 2 in Food Production, giving them skills in food preparation, baking, stock and time management, as well as knowledge of health and safety. Just as importantly, the Bakery provides them with invaluable recent work experience to enhance their CV and work readiness for when they are released.
Reducing re-offending rates
One of the reasons the awards have been given was to recognise the work the Bakery has done to reduce re-offending rates. Of those who have been through the programme, 33% are now in work or training – with many in the hospitality and catering industry. And only 3% of participants have gone on to re-offend within one year of being released from custody, compared with the national average of 47%.
So far, more than 60 people with convictions have been through, or are currently part of, the Bad Boys’ Bakery programme and have helped to produce and sell almost 75,000 tasty treats. Up to 20 prisoners can work full-time in the Bakery.
Leading coffee house brand Caffè Nero is one of the Bakery’s major partners, which sells products at selected London stores. All profits are reinvested into the purpose-built Bakery, which holds a five-star Food Standards Agency hygiene rating.
Support from Working Links
Alongside their development within the Bakery, the Boys are given tailored support from a Working Links case manager. For those ex-offenders who are eligible for temporary release on licence to work, the Boys have opportunities to take on different roles, including assisting with deliveries and taking on administration roles within the bakery to aid with their progression into the community.
On release from prison the Boys are given further support from Working Links resettlement mentors, who support them with things such as housing, and an employer services team, who look to identify job opportunities for the Boys, where they can utilise many of the skills they have developed while working in the Bakery.
Working Links works with prisoners in eight prisons across London including HM Prison Brixton to improve their employment prospects as part of their Moving On programme. The project is jointly funded by the National Offender Management Service Co-financing Organisation and the European Social Fund (ESF). The ESF is transforming lives through better skills and better job prospects.
For more information about Bad Boys’ Bakery click here
About Working Links
Working Links was founded in 2000 and operates in more than 50 locations across England, Scotland, Wales, and the Middle East. It is a unique organisation that delivers services to tackle social exclusion and poverty by helping disadvantaged individuals and communities.
The organisation’s belief that employment is the best route out of poverty and crime and has helped over a quarter of a million people back into work.
For more information about Working Links click here