Case Study: The Clink Charity
The matrix Standard Is Helping The Clink To Change Lives.
Alberto Crisci, MBE, founded the Clink Restaurant at HMP High Down in Surrey. He saw potential in the prison kitchen staff and introduced City & Guilds NVQ programmes to help inmates gain roles in the hospitality industry on release.
Now in its 14th year, The Clink Charity operates from several UK prisons, offering training and support in a commercial food setting.
These programmes deliver the UK’s best reductions in re-offending. Through this pioneering work, The Clink continues to nurture talent for the hospitality sector and help individuals rebuild their lives. As its mission states, The Clink is all about: ‘Changing attitudes, transforming lives and creating second chances.’
Paul Clarkson – Director of Quality and Training, and Chris Horton – Business Development Lead, were kind enough to give their time to describe how the matrix Standard is helping them with their life-changing work after their accreditation in November 2023.
How do you describe your roles in The Clink?
Chris explained how The Clink operates commercially and operationally:
‘We have two perspectives here because I’m business development and Paul’s very much operational curriculum. ‘My role is to look for funding opportunities and partnerships that align with our Mission and Values.’
Paul added:
‘For me it’s about delivering training that we’re passionate about, that gets people work and ultimately reduces the likelihood of them re-offending. IAG is a key part of that. Because we’re not only getting them trained quickly, we’re supporting them in getting well-paid work.’
As both explained, they provide a combination of operational training and external funding that looks beyond culinary skills to help students with personal well-being, job search, and housing.
The Clink team knows from experience that a stable foundation is essential for students to apply their new skills. In short, Clink provides a personalised service that prioritises ‘people, not numbers’ and uses high-quality IAG to help students achieve their goals.
How did you come to the matrix Standard?
Chris outlined how he knew the matrix Standard from his previous roles in Further Education:
‘I was very aware of it coming from the sectors I’ve worked in and realised The Clink is an IAG service by another name. Paul got that straight away. As my role is going out there and trying to attract funders, so there was a kind of business element to it, which is going to help us going forward.’
Both were keen also to emphasise the reputational benefits their accreditation brings inside and outside the organisation, primarily as the business relies on donations and funding to operate. As Chris confirmed:
‘There is a business element to it, but there’s also the recognition amongst staff.’
So, what did you discover as you prepared for the assessment?
Paul and Chris found that as they reviewed their IAG policies and resources, the staff’s awareness that The Clink is an IAG-driven business could have been higher. So, attaining the matrix Standard helped the broader team understand they are part of a larger support network irrespective of their roles and that sharing information is paramount.
There was also the realisation of the quantity and quality of the IAG resources they had produced, which brought some well-deserved pride to the team. Paul commented:
‘Actually, we’re doing an awful lot here. We didn’t credit ourselves for what we did under that IAG banner and how hard we worked to create everything…
So the matrix Standard helped us to define and manage those elements of our business.’
An example of the broader IAG materials the team has developed, according to recognised needs, is how students can pursue self-employment. This provision is now met by partnering with established food businesses that provide real-world advice on the administration and practical elements of creating food businesses.
What were your ‘lightbulb moments’ as you went through the process?
Student well-being is an important area in The Clink’s IAG efforts. Paul explained the benefits of this approach.
‘One thing that came out is we shout about our employment record and reducing re-offending, but we really need to talk more about people’s well-being. So getting them to consider their personal interests and to learn life skills. If they get interested, they can do research in their free time while on the prison wings.’
Paul also discussed the innovative use of AI to translate IAG materials for foreign prisoners. They are using an HMPPS innovation grant to fund a pilot scheme that uses AI to translate IAG materials for Romanian, Polish, and Albanian inmates.
Chris talked about the influence of their accreditation on the senior team.
‘We took them through what the matrix Standard is all about. There was a real kind of lightbulb moment where they realised this can be useful in the future, you know, in terms of recognition and proof of our delivery.’
So tell us about your assessment…
Paul and Chris were very complimentary about their assessor, Janette. They appreciated her flexible but comprehensive approach as she spoke to learners, graduates, the senior team and training providers over two days. Paul outlined how it went.
‘We met at the start, and it was a helpful process from the very beginning, as we spoke about and discussed different aspects all the way through.’
Chris commented further:
‘I knew it was a collaborative, constructive process, not an inspection. There were a few practical issues. But again, getting credit for the work you’ve put in is worth it.’
Janette gave the team additional ideas like developing soft skills KPIs for learners, using online well-being apps, and helping staff gain formal IAG qualifications. Janette also tried some of the excellent dishes the learners were serving, which helped her connect with the team and gave her a greater appreciation of their achievements.
Overall, The Clink team found their assessment challenging but not overly demanding while delivering valuable and enlightening new ideas to develop going forward.
Have you seen any commercial benefits since you were accredited?
Chris sees the matrix Standard as a strength in his business development work in attracting funding and grant support.
‘There have been some contracts and areas of work that we’ve gone for where it’s been a prerequisite, and then there are others where it’s added value. For example, if it’s a grant from a trust, it might not be a prerequisite, but it definitely helps in discussions.’
Examples we discussed included Ministry Of Justice (MOJ) funding, where the matrix Standard will help them tender for subcontracts and other opportunities. This includes the recently launched CFO Evolution initiative, which looks at community and mainstream support programmes to reduce re-offending.
Both Paul and Chris were optimistic that their accreditation would give them a distinct edge in applying for and getting funding for their future plans.
What about your continuous improvement processes?
Paul described some practical new ideas they have introduced recently and how having well-managed IAG processes helps.
‘We try to show our students new dishes and techniques. For example, we had a charcuterie workshop recently, which helped us realise we could do with somebody who knows a lot about this area.’
It’s also useful to capture and safeguard a new piece of awareness, like allergies. We lean on IAG processes in order to be able to put that into place.’
IAG also underpins CPD planning in The Clink. Each staff member has to undertake 30 hours minimum CPD annually. Paul outlined how they provide this evidence:
‘The requirements from City & Guild have to be documented to provide to the external compliance assessor on the day of their visit. So we were always being pretty good at making these resources.’
What would you say to other organisations considering the matrix Standard?
“Do it’ was Paul’s succinct but telling answer.
‘Because I’m used to seeing C&G, OFSTED or prison inspections, you don’t quite know what you’re going looking for. But it was much more pleasant than I thought it was going to be…
So if they’re at the right kind of organisation, don’t hesitate to get on with it because you’ll know what you can look at to improve your processes.’
Chris added his views from a commercial perspective.
‘And for me, there was trying to convince people who might not have heard of this initially and prove and ensure that the learning taken from the accreditation improves the service. I’m sure it has. and it’s going to increase the likelihood of being more sustainable as an organisation in the future.’
In summary
Thanks to Paul and Chris for sharing their experiences with IAG and the matrix Standard. It’s clearly becoming a vital part of their operations, helping them deliver for their students and graduates and in the search for scarce resources in a competitive funding landscape.
Few would disagree The Clink provides a unique lifeline for people who want to rebuild their lives after custody. The numbers speak for themselves: According to MOJ research, Clink graduates are 65.6% less likely to re-offend after training.
Clink restaurants consistently feature in Trip Advisor’s top 20 UK restaurants. It proves that the quality of education provided to students makes a significant difference in the challenged hospitality industry.
The matrix Standard team is delighted to work with The Clink. It’s obvious they’re passionate about ‘changing attitudes, transforming lives and creating second chances.
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