25 Years of Life in the Inside

Natasha writes: “When I was at LEH, the school coach used to pass signs for Her Majesty's Young Offender Institution (HMYOI) Feltham every morning. It held a strange fascination for me, and I used to wonder who on earth wanted to work there! But after completing a BSc in Psychology I found myself, slightly to my surprise, joining the team in 1998, following a chance meeting with someone who worked there. My original plan was just to stay for a year to get experience of the criminal justice system, and then to pursue a career in criminal psychology.  

I joined Feltham as an officer in uniform and initially worked with convicted children.  From day one I enjoyed the role and found that my confidence improved in many other areas of life. 

A few years after leaving LEH I returned to talk to sixth formers about my career and I vividly remember one of the teachers saying that I was the last person she thought would work in a prison.  I think it’s safe to say that my parents wondered what on earth I was getting myself into - it isn’t the kind of career that most parents would wish to see their daughter going into.  That said, they are now very proud of what I do, and I will never forget the moment when they told me this.

I spent the first seven years of my career at Feltham as an officer, then senior officer (SO).  SOs ran the wings at Feltham and were first line managers for the officers.  I then spent a couple of years in the Security Department which gave me a very different perspective.  I was assessing whether offences met the criteria for category A, was dedicated search team trained and played a role in managing intelligence and maintaining security at the prison. 

During this time, a colleague told me about the fast-track scheme and encouraged me to apply.  After a rigorous process, including a weekend away doing role plays, group exercises, interviews, and presentations, I was successful. 

At this point I left Feltham and went to HMP Coldingley to work with adult male category C prisoners.  I went from one of over 50 SOs at Feltham to one of five governor grades.  People often think that there is just one governor in a prison, but in fact there are different governor grades (ranging from 7 – 11). 

I started as a band 7 at Coldingley and left there to have my first son in 2006.  I returned from my maternity leave to HMP Send, which is a closed women’s prison.  I managed various functions including safety, residence, security, and capacity build programmes etc.  It was invaluable experience, and although I was part of the fast-track scheme I was never in a rush to progress.  I’ve always been one to just feel my way and decide when I am ready.

In 2010 I became Deputy Governor of a category B lifer prison, HMP Kingston in Portsmouth.  It was a small prison, and both the Senior Management Team and staff group were very male dominated.  The prisoners weren’t used to female governor grades; some blanked me initially and it took time to gain their trust, but I’ve always been a people person and loved building relationships with both the staff and the prisoners. 

As deputy governor I had operational oversight of the prison and all the operational functions within it.  Most governor grades carry out adjudications (disciplinary hearings for prisoners) and duty governor duties.  When the Governing Governor was on annual leave I was left in charge.  Initially this was quite daunting, however as I gained experience and confidence it became easier. 

I was asked to move to Haslar Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) and agreed, even though it was about an hour and a half each way.  At this point I had two young children.  Within a few weeks of joining the IRC, the Governor announced they were moving to another prison, and I was asked to take charge until a new one was appointed.  A very steep learning curve followed; IRCs run under different rules than prisons and ours was contracted to HMPS by the Home Office. 

Just under two years later, I successfully applied for a secondment to work for the Director of Public Sector Prisons as his Business Manager.  This was a very different but busy role working with the Chief Executive, Directors, and Deputies as well as Ministerial staff, Press Office, and Stakeholders.  I learnt an incredible amount about the impact of politics on our prisons, how policy is formed and how many of the support functions at headquarters work.

A few years later, I moved to HMP Wandsworth, which at the time housed up to 1,628 remand and convicted men.  I was promoted to deputy governor and learnt to operationally manage the biggest prison in the country. 

In 2018 I took on my first Governing Governor role in charge of HMPs Downview (closed women’s prison in Sutton) and East Sutton Park (open women’s prison in Kent).  I faced significant challenges during my tenure there, including opening the first High Risk Transgender unit in the world, managing a prison on a performance improvement plan and the challenges that COVID provided in a custodial environment.  One of the highlights of my career was hosting Queen Camilla’s visit, or as she was known at the time, the Duchess of Cornwall.  The whole day felt surreal and a huge privilege.

Last year my career saw me return to HMP & YOI Feltham in a very different capacity than the first time I walked in with my freshly ironed uniform and stacks of naivety!  I was appointed as Governing Governor of Feltham 24 years after joining His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.

It felt very surreal walking in on my first day, even more so since many of my ex-colleagues were still there. Some are now part of my Senior Leadership Teams.  I say 'teams' as Feltham is a very unique prison.  On the A side we hold boys aged 15-18-years, and on the B side we hold convicted men aged 18-25. Both sides of the prison operate under different rules, performance measures and with two separate Senior Leadership Teams. Everything I do has to be duplicated in terms of meetings and pieces of work.

The day-to-day variety of work is vast and fast-paced.  I provide strategic direction, manage serious incidents, deal with press enquiries, estates issues including roofing projects, legionella, asbestos etc, hold disciplinary hearings and decision meetings relating to staff, manage two Senior Leadership Teams focusing on improving performance and deciding strategy, dealing with Minsters, visiting the boys or young adults who are separated or segregated, ensuring that children are safeguarded, providing governance of use of force and many other areas. I continue to enjoy my role; however, it is a real challenge and not everyone’s cup of tea.

One of my most rewarding days at Feltham so far was when the Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel (who is four times world champion) came to visit and talk to those on the B side.  He opened our motor mechanics workshop in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister.  He was down to earth and extremely inspirational.

Last month saw my 25th anniversary at HMPPS. I’ve had a really varied and mostly enjoyable career to date.  In HMPPS we receive a Long Service Medal at 20 years’ service, but I didn’t really mark 25 years other than with a normal busy day!”

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