Our bike recycling project has had a hugely positive couple of years since winning the Robin Corbett Award. We’re about to move to a new, bigger workshop inside the secure area of the prison. We have hired an assistant for John (our wonderful workshop instructor, whom you met) so we can open 50 weeks a year, and we’re looking to launch a follow-on work placement scheme for ex-offenders servicing bikes for the public early next year. All this progress was kickstarted by the positive media coverage we got from the Award in 2017. So thank you!

“It is fantastic to have recognition of our hard work across the country, from finding purposeful employment for the individuals we work with to assisting ex-prisoners with stable housing and supporting peer networks. The Award will allow us to expand our mental health and well-being support services, to offer new services and meet growing demand.”

“It is wonderful to have our work connecting women in prison with employers who match their skills and aspiration recognised. The prize money will go directly towards the delivery of a planned programme of cross-sector events and open days and the profile that comes from the award will enable us to expand our operations and engage with a wider range of private sector employers.”

“It is wonderful to receive the Commended prize from this prestigious Award, and a vindication of the work of our organisation. We hope that the raised profile resulting from the Award will impact positively on our future funding enabling us to extend our work and the prize money will go towards this end."

“We have used the RCA Award money to help fund a fulltime professional recruitment consultant in Birmingham to help us accelerate Inside Job. He is building relationships with local employers while our colleague, Jonathan, who is still serving his sentence, finds the best candidates inside. Those in prison and after released are worth investing in. I passionately believe when we raise the bottom rung of our society we all walk taller."

“RMF are delighted to have been recognised for the training and employment we provide to currently serving prisoners as well as to those after release. We hope this Award and the successes RMF has experienced from training and employing those with previous offences, will encourage blue-chip companies and large projects such as Hs2 to modernise their recruitment channels and create real social value."

“We are absolutely delighted to win this Award. Looking at the calibre of previous winners, we have big shoes to fill! To be assessed as being amongst those organisations as peers, is a massive step for Code4000. Being fairly new in this space we are really pleased to be recognised in this way. We are super grateful to the MoJ and New Futures Network for helping us to make this happen and look forward to reporting more graduates into highly paid tech sector employment. We have a really exciting year ahead of us in 2020, with female prisons coming on board and further expansion into London and this just kicks it off brilliantly."

“Winning the award has meant that we have had an incredible response on social media and Switchback is being celebrated by so many of our supporters and others in the Criminal Justice Sector. A massive THANK YOU to The Prison Reform Trust and the Robin Corbett Award for recognising the value of the work that Switchback does and for helping more people to hear about the incredible journey that our Trainees decide to embark on."