SPANews - First Edition

Staffordshire Probation Employee Receives Prestigious Award From HRH The Princess Royal

28th Feb, 2008

HRH The Princess Royal presented Cliff Thompson, Work Skills Programme Manager of Staffordshire Probation Area, with the Butler Trust Keith Bromley Award for Education and Skills Training at Buckingham Palace on Monday 3 March 2008.  The award is in recognition of his work in creating The Workskills Programme which has been used to provide a range of practical work based skills qualifications.

The award to Cliff Thompson, which is supported by the Bromley Trust, is one of several to be presented by the Princess Royal on behalf of the Butler Trust.  The Trust is an independent charity whose Annual Award Scheme seeks to identify and promote excellence and innovation by staff working with offenders throughout the UK.

Cliff Thompson's special blend of initiative, skills and experience equipped him well for the task of designing and delivering a practical skills training programme for offenders with the Open College Network and two further education colleges.  The accredited programme includes decorating, horticulture, health and safety and customer service. In the last ten years over 4,500 learners have studied the programme with a success rate of 75%.  Basic skills have now been embedded into the practical units.  Cliff's visionary work has been rewarded by employment prospects for the learners and professional and personal development for the tutors.

Cliff said, "I feel that the Butler Trust Keith Bromley Award for Education and Skills Training is a sound endorsement of the hard work of my staff and me.  I believe that the award and the consequent support from the Butler Trust will support our aims of making the Workskills Progression Programme an even healthier, fit for purpose, transferable vehicle for addressing the workplace and the social interaction skills of offenders."

The award is one of 42 being presented this year to prison staff throughout the UK, probation staff in England and Wales and Criminal Justice Social Work in Scotland.

Commenting on the awards, Sir Trevor Brooking, Chairman of the Butler Trust said, "The Butler Trust is delighted to be able to draw attention to and reward some of the wonderful and innovative ways in which prison and probation staff help offenders.  Much of what these talented people do is challenging and often goes unseen by the general public.  However, they play a crucial role in reducing re-offending rates across the UK.  I would like to extend my personal thanks to each and every one of them".

Cliff Thompson receives his award from HRH The Princess Royal.

For details of all the 2008 Butler Trust Award winners please visit www.thebutlertrust.org.uk.