How sport can break the cycle of reoffending

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The 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture

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Sport can have a transformative effect on young people in prison, not only by giving a boost to mental and physical health, but by opening routes into employment, training and education.

That was the message of Professor Rosie Meek at the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture, which took place this week following rail strike disruption last year.

Professor Meek, a leading expert on sport in prisons and Head of the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London, pointed to a growing body of international evidence showing the ability of community and prison-based sports initiatives to help reduce offending.

But our lecturer explained that the benefits of sport go much further than just providing a “diversion” from offending behaviour. Research shows that sport can help young people establish a more positive self-identity and gain access to both cultural and social capital – essential for overcoming the low expectations which can hold back young people in the criminal justice system.

L-R: Richard Foley, Portal Trust Chief Executive, Professor Rosie Meek, Professor Elisabeth Hill, City,  University of London Deputy President, Sophie Fernandes, Portal Trust Chairman, Denise Jones, Portal Trust Deputy Chair
Image caption: L-R: Richard Foley, Portal Trust Chief Executive, Professor Rosie Meek, Professor Elisabeth Hill, City, University of London Deputy President, Sophie Fernandes, Portal Trust Chairman, Denise Jones, Portal Trust Deputy Chair
Colleen Harris MVO DL, Portal Trust Consultant
Image caption: Colleen Harris MVO DL, Portal Trust Consultant
Professor André Spicer opening the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture
Image caption: Professor André Spicer opening the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture
Q&A Session at the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture
Image caption: Q&A Session at the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture

Using examples from her work on the ground, Professor Meek quoted a young London man who’d taken part in a scheme with the Ian Wright Football Behind Bars project, who told her: “I’m even considering going to university to do a foundation, then possibly doing physiotherapy or something like that. Before, I never had anything like that in my mind”.

Another ex-prisoner, John McAvoy, is now a professional Iron Man triathlete, having embarked on an intense fitness programme that led to him breaking British, and then World, records while serving a sentence in a high security prison.

Professor Meek was careful to point out that promoting change through physical activity and sport isn’t the same as sending struggling young people to ultra-strict “Bootcamps”, a persistently proposed intervention which isn’t well supported by evidence.

Rather, the Social Development model “uses organised physical activity as a ‘hook’ to attract youth into an environment where additional teaching and learning can be provided, such as initiatives related to education, qualifications, broader life skills, and positive social networks. Such a ‘hook’ is especially powerful when supported through established and legitimate sporting groups and bodies, and this is where partnerships are so valuable.”

Turning to the particular challenges for women and girls, who make up 4% of the prison population, Professor Meek observed that there are often unique and unfair obstacles preventing many from accessing sport and exercise. Some had been obliged to choose between taking part in sport and being able to phone their children, while others had access to a gym which only contained equipment designed for male prisoners. In other cases, suitable clothing for sport simply wasn’t made available.

The Portal Trust is dedicated to providing spaces for discussion and learning for London’s education sector, and we’re delighted that this year’s lecture brought together an array of stakeholders from education, government, charities and criminal justice, along with those who had themselves spent time in prison and made positive changes to their lives through sport. This meant that a fascinating and wide-ranging Q and A session followed, with questions drawing on a breadth of experiences and perspectives.

The Lecture was bookended with brief addresses from André Spicer, Dean of Bayes Business School, Elisabeth Hill, Deputy President of City, University of London, our Chairman Sophie Fernandes and our Chief Executive Richard Foley. We continue to deeply value our long relationship with City and the Bayes Business School, which has enabled many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to access life-changing educational opportunities. We’re grateful to Bayes for once again hosting this special annual event, and look forward to the 2023 Portal Trust Education Lecture later this year.

A video of Professor Meek's lecture can be viewed here.

Lively discussions after the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture
Image caption: Lively discussions after the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture
Lively discussions after the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture
Image caption: Lively discussions after the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture
Lively discussions after the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture
Image caption: Lively discussions after the 2022/23 Portal Trust Education Lecture