Welcome to HMP Lowdham Grange

Directors Introduction

At HMP Lowdham Grange we provide a safe, decent, secure and respectful environment that encapsulates a wide range of constructive activities. The regime both combines and embraces work, education, vocational training, accredited offending behaviour programmes, as well as prisoner health and appropriate interventions where individual need is identified.

HMP Lowdham Grange is a long term category B establishment. The commissioning of Houseblock 3 in May 2007 has given the establishment a baseline Certificate of Normal Accommodation (CNA) 628 and Operational Capacity (Op. Cap.) of 656 prisoner places. 128 of these places are occupied by Indeterminate for Public Protection (IPP) prisoners. Contractual arrangements have allowed (by negotiation) this to increase to a maximum Op Cap. of 692.

In March 2010 the commissioning of Houseblock 4 and Houseblock 5 has further expanded the planned Op Cap to 946 and the CNA to 888. This will be opened in March 2010. This is an incredibly exciting addition to the existing site and the planning towards this by the previous Director, the contractor and the Senior Management Team has been tremendous which will result in high quality accommodation with an excellent regime. All of this is underpinned by the principles of public protection and reducing reoffending.

We deliver a high level of service to the National Offender Management Service through the efforts and commitment of a professional staff group, constructive relationships with the prisoner population, engagement with families of prisoners and close and constructive working with all other Criminal Justice Agencies.

Our staff are committed to ensuring that those prisoners going back to society have robust resettlement opportunities through strong community links.

We want to make both Lowdham Grange and Serco an employer of choice whereby the governing principles are both embraced and evident in the establishment. The Serco Governing Principles are that we foster an entrepreneurial culture, we enable our people to excel, we deliver our promises and we build trust and respect.  Staff throughout Lowdham Grange have a clearly defined pay structure and performance improvements are achieved through the development of NVQ’s, Apprenticeships, Management Development Programmes as well as comprehensive job specific training. All staff will have their individual needs met in terms of development planning and we are innovative in meeting the work life balance requirements of our staff within the parameters of the need to deliver our business.

The next year will be a challenging, tough but exciting period and we will build on previous solid performance to drive towards excellence in everything we do. 2009 was a hugely successful year which has seen us recognised as a Level 4 prison, a level awarded to only a handful of establishments in England and Wales in recognition of sustained levels of strong performance against all of the challenging targets set.

As mentioned above, we have a further expansion due to open in early 2010 providing high quality accommodation for another 260 prisoners, each with fully funded activity places. This offers us an opportunity to further develop on existing vocational skills and education provision thereby further balancing our activity profile. This will make a significant and positive impact on our current capacity issues and will also go way to addressing some of the low quality work that prisoners are currently engaged in as highlighted in the most recent Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) report. Re-engineering of the current industries and existing partnerships with some leading companies will provide meaningful employment with real training providing real prospects for transition to jobs on release.

Gareth Sands

Director