Case Study: Grand Avenues

Re-imagining how probation services can work with local communities

“The sessions are some of the best I’ve been on and really help to steer reflections and the project’s development. In my view, they have really brought people together and it is this energy that will really help to drive the project – so thank you.”

The problem

The Ely & Caerau wards of Cardiff have among the highest rates of recidivism in the country, in particular among men. Lack of trust between people on probation, the criminal justice system and wider public services feeds a vicious cycle of intergenerational reoffending.

Probation officers and community organisations on the ground are all doing their best to support these men to lead crime-free lives and become active citizens. But they find themselves working in silos, unable to address the underlying issues of poverty, housing and education and stop people from falling through the cracks.

Our solution

Telescope worked with HMPPS Wales and the Ministry of Justice to deliver an exciting pilot project that is trialing a new approach to probation, one that is asset-based, user-centred and rooted in local communities. The Grand Avenues project will run over ten years, with a new team of probation officers supervising people on probation locally within community hubs, alongside local charities Action in Caerau and Ely and Wales Restorative Approaches Partnership.

Through a series of monthly workshops over 18 months, supported by regular networking opportunities and additional microlearning materials, Telescope created a safe space for people on the Grand Avenues project to come together to build relationships, share ideas and learn the tools they need to deliver tangible change within the project.

Every session brought in new ideas, whether through the insights of guest speakers like Steve Chalke (Oasis Charitable Trust) and Corin Morgan-Armstrong (Invisible Walls Wales), or through the sharing of learnings between participants through user journey mapping, reflection and active listening activities.

Outcomes

Through laughter, learning and a lot of listening, Grand Avenues participants are transforming the way probation is delivered in the community. Over the course of the learning programme, the team developed and tested new approaches, working collaboratively to overcome some of the challenges they identified in their early sessions together.

Key outcomes include:

  • The men on probation have been receiving more holistic and responsive support, including restorative approaches, counselling, and value-add social activities. This has increased engagement, reduced breaches, and improved compliance.

  • Due to the open environment, the men trust the team has their best interests at heart, and therefore begin to open up much more, asking for help and sharing their support needs.

  • Community services are more accessible through the relationships that have been built at the centre between local charities and public services.

  • Marked effects on the men’s confidence - some are visiting the centre by themselves for the first time, others are coming in “with a spring in their step”.

  • The men are working much more closely with their families in their journey through probation, and communicating much more with their families about their previous history, their offences, and their journey through probation

Within the Grand Avenues team, we saw a huge range of positive outcomes, including:

  • 86% of the team feel “integrated” into the multi-agency team.

  • 78% of the team have learnt new skills through the project.

  • 100% of the team feel empowered to participate in the development of the project.

  • 100% of the team are “happy” to be part of the project (this included feeling “excited” and “privileged” in open-ended answers).