YCG Academy has formally partnered with The Chrysalis Foundation for the development of a digital version of the Chrysalis Foundation’s world-class thinking skills programme. The programme has been taught as a classroom-based service since 2010 to great acclaim at HMP Oakwood, HMP/YOI Reading, HMP Featherstone, HMP Hewell, and HMP Portland.
The programme was developed and trialled with assistance from the National Lottery and is now a paid service available to prison governors and programmes teams under the Dynamic Purchasing System. The programme is a highly regarded and effective tool for achieving positive change and engagement with sentence planning and has multiple applications as a self-analysis development tool.
Core modules have been added to the existing curriculum to directly link course completion, risk reduction, and employability and have been adapted to meet the increasing access to digital services afforded to serving prisoners.
Our support services deliver consistently better results not only for those they support, but crucially those that have faith in purchasing our services.
The Managing Director of YCG Academy says: “Our Chrysalis by YCG course is a 21st century, world-class service offering which builds on an already exemplar service provided by The Chrysalis Foundation. My Academy colleagues have relished working with David Apparicio over the last 12 months in developing this much-needed self-help tool for prisoners and prison leavers to take the first steps towards their successful reintegration into their communities on release.
“I would recommend the Chrysalis Programme to all stakeholders. Chrysalis by YCG is now accessible to all serving prisoners as a personal development tool and will support any job application via our YCG Careers Service. Employment on release is key to our service delivery.
“YCG Academy has also incorporated Chrysalis by YCG into its IAG service offering. Again, this can be offered as a stand-alone course and (as with all our courses) is available via the Prison Digital Hub or in booklet form.
“Our IAG by YCG service offering is a core component for the administration of our Pathways Programme for getting prisoners into employment. Every YCG Caseworker will undertake our Peer Mentoring, Chrysalis by YCG, IAG by YCG and Prison Law Course.
“Every YCG Citizen will undertake Chrysalis by YCG as part of our route to guaranteed employment. For those who are not selected for our Pathways Programme, IAG by YCG is an extremely valuable tool in its own right”.
David Apparicio, MBE, JP, FRSA, FITOL, CEO and Founder of The Chrysalis Foundation and newly appointed non-executive director of YCG Trust said: “I am delighted that YCG has incorporated the Chrysalis Philosophy into every aspect of service delivery and culture. Chrysalis by YCG is designed to supplement my work at the Chrysalis Foundation but will now be accessible to thousands of prisoners in its new formats.
“Our support services deliver consistently better results not only for those they support, but crucially those that have faith in purchasing our services. We want to deliver services where each stakeholder’s success is at the core of our delivery. To get this right, we first listened to prisoners and prison leavers, took time to understand their needs, then designed every element of our services in conformity with The Prisons White Paper and current legislation so we can offer some- thing truly exceptional in the upskilling of serving prisoners and their future employment.
“The joint venture between YCG and The Chrysalis Foundation is another game-changer which will help all stakeholders and is a wonderful illustration of the benefits of much-need collaboration in this sector.”
David Apparicio was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s New Year Honours list 2019 for Services to Reducing Re-offending and is an advisory board member of The Corbett Network for Prisoner Reintegration.