Ripon House Approved Premises for Women

NATIONAL AUDIT GIVES TOP MARKS TO RIPON

The Ministry of Justice published the results of the second National Audit of Approved Premises in July and Ripon House scored a magnificent 29 out of a possible 30. This made Ripon House the top scoring female hostel in the country and the highest scoring hostel in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region.

The audit required Approved Premises to be evaluated against a framework of 10 performance standards with 80 different criteria. The results were evaluated by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Performance Improvement Unit. To enable comparisons each performance standard was scored with the top mark of 3 points in each standard only being given if all the criteria were met. This made 30 the maximum total mark.

"This is a real boost for Ripon House and a credit to the hard work and dedication of the staff team" said manager Rod Pickin.

Ripon House has undergone many changes since it became an all female AP in June 2006. It is now a much more pleasant environment which helps women make the necessary changes in their life. "Women need a different approach to rehabilitation than men" says Rod Pickin. "Generally they have a different pathway into offending than men so it's not surprising that different approaches to rehabilitation tend to give better results for women."

The advent of the Together Women Project has helped expand the programme options available for individual residents while the hostel continues to expand its in house programme. As well as the recently introduced creative writing group and fire safety group, plans are in hand for relaxation classes and a healthy eating/cooking class.

While not everyone referred to Ripon House is ready to change, those that are will certainly find all the help and support they need. With the right staff, the right environment and the right programmes, Ripon House will go from strength to strength in its quest to become a centre of excellence in the rehabilitation of female offenders.