European Social Fund \ ESF in action \ Case studies

Paint It take the challenge

Location: Nottingham, East Midlands

ESF Funding: National Offender Management Service (NOMS)

ESF Target Group: Ex-offender

In 2011, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Co-financing organisation secured around £4 million European Social Fund support to develop and enhance its relationship with the Social Enterprise sector.

As a result, NOMS launched the ESF Social Enterprise Challenge. Over 90 consortia of social enterprises, prisons and probation trusts submitted bids to test new ideas focused around Community Payback and Sustainable Development. Ten bids were selected and the projects are currently in the process of implementing their ideas.

One project - ‘Paint It’ is based in Nottinghamshire and runs as a social enterprise business working with Community Payback Offenders (CPOs). It is managed by EVE Trades CIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Framework Housing Association – a provider of housing, support, training, care, employment and resettlement services to homeless and vulnerable people that operates in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.

Paint It was initially set up in 2009 to support homeless and vulnerable people learn new skills, gain a work history and progress to work placements and employment opportunities. With the additional NOMS ESF funding, Paint It recruited a Coordinator with a responsibility for a second Paint It team made up of Community Payback referrals from Nottinghamshire Probation Trust.

Once accepted onto the programme all offenders received basic training in Paint It’s workshop where there are units set up as rooms within houses to learn the skills required. CPOs also received on the job training such as scaffolding, manual handing, health and safety and gaining Construction Skills Certificate Scheme cards.  All participants on the programme have an individual learning and employment plan that identifies barriers to employment and sets out steps that needed to be taken to achieve goals identified. 

CPOs were engaged in painting and decorating Framework’s supported and emergency accommodation for homeless and vulnerable people.  This ensured a positive environment for these groups to live in.

The project has made a huge difference to the offenders who are learning new and valuable skills, getting involved in meaningful activity and either ceased or reducing time spent offending. Not only have they learned practical skills but have also learned social skills including communication, team working and tolerance. 

So far offenders have completed 4331 hours of Community Payback:

• four returned to Paint It after hours spent to continue learning and undertake an NVQ;
• 100% have increased motivation and confidence and report better skills for work;
• 94% of offenders have learned new skills or rediscovered old ones;
• 82% have made good progress towards their individual goals and report that they find it easier to talk to people;
• 53% report they have improved their mental and physical health; and
• 35% state they are better at keeping appointments.

A client of Paint It, Stephen (not his real name) said, “Paint It has given me a new lease of life.  I never thought I would enjoy working. I was in a very bad place but the guys helped me loads and now I’m glad I’ve done it as it’s helped to turn my life around.”

Probation valued the fact that Paint It, as a part of Framework, could provide additional support around housing, debt, substance misuse and mental health to offenders as well as other disadvantaged groups. 

Nottinghamshire Probation Service has been extremely pleased with the outcomes for their clients. Mark Byfield, Community Service Officer explained, “The way they have helped offenders with additional training where required has been a real bonus for those offenders who have taken this additional support and run with it. Some have now taken the next step and gone onto college courses and talked of the possibilities of setting up self employment once trained.”

He went onto say, “The feedback from offenders has been excellent and very encouraging… This has to be the way forward for getting people back into work and away from re-offending of which we all know is the only way forward to reducing crime in general for the future.”