The Art of Being a Dad

This Spurgeons online multimedia exhibition features creative work produced by fathers in the prisons we work in. It includes moving stories and poetry from the dads explaining what it’s like to be in prison and away from their families, and what their children mean to them.

Big thanks to National Lottery Awards for All England for funding this initiative.

Support for families

Spurgeons delivers a variety of activities and programmes to support both fathers in prison and their families.

Tom Ambler, with Selena, Johnny and Tommy

Invisible Walls

Read about our award-winning Invisible Walls service at HMP Winchester

PrisonSupportAnimation

Help for prisoners families

A series of animations to help you have those necessary conversations with children in your care.

Tom Ambler, with Selena, Johnny and Tommy

Family days

Our family days are a way for children to connect with their parent in prison

Reading

StoryBook Dads

Hear about how the StoryBook Dad programme works with fathers in prison

Family drawing

Top Tips for Families

Read our guide to supporting a child with a parent in prison

Sonny Maughan with Lavant and Arabella

Further Information

Support services and useful links for families affected by imprisonment

A view of a prison yard from behind bars

Hidden Sentence Training

Because families serve sentences too

At Spurgeons, we know that prisoners' families serve their own hidden sentences when a family member is sent to prison. It can be hard to find support for a variety of reasons.

It can impact families' financial, practical and emotional well-being, negatively influencing their contact and relationships during and after imprisonment.

Hidden Sentence is a short course for professionals who work with families, giving them an overview of the issues facing prisoners' families who are affected by the criminal justice system and a range of strategies and resources to help support them.

Offering a Helping Hand

Offering a Helping Hand is a new booklet, which addresses the impact of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) and other indeterminate sentences on prisoners and their families.

The booklet is a joint publication by Spurgeons and Southampton Law School and draws on collaborative work and families of those serving IPP sentences carried out by Associate Professor at the Law School, Dr Harry Annison. It is also informed by insights provided by Spurgeons' Invisible Walls team at HMP Winchester.

DaughterandFatherHugging

Hope for Every Child

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