Prison senior staff first to get UK accredited on-island

Tracey Mahy and John de Carteret are the first members of the prison’s senior team to complete the Guernsey Governing Governor’s Development and Assessment Programme.

Since 2004, the governor and deputy governor of Guernsey Prison have been UK accredited, with no way for senior managers on-island to gain this qualification until the bespoke programme was established five years ago in collaboration with the learning and development team from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service

Mr de Carteret said the qualification was ‘robust’ and had provided stringent examination of his skills and knowledge.

‘I am absolutely delighted to have achieved qualification to a nationally recognised standard which has come about by investment and commitment to personal and professional development by me and the States of Guernsey as my employer,’ he said.

‘I took up the programme because of my previous roles within the States of Guernsey and because I saw it for the opportunity that it was. It was a real personal and professional challenge to get through it.

‘The programme is modular by nature so there are gateways you have to pass through, and you cannot go beyond that point until you have reached the standard required.’

Mrs Mahy said the process had been ‘vigorous and rewarding’.

‘Having the opportunity to qualify as a governing governor has been a unique and invaluable experience, which has further enhanced my ability to contribute to the maintenance of a healthy environment for both staff and prisoners at Guernsey Prison,’ she said.

‘I consider it essential that prisoners are provided with the resources to develop their skills, in order to improve the health of our community. With this high-level accreditation, I apply new and advanced knowledge to my existing core values, while working within the senior management team.’

Both operational governors were presented with their certificates by Home Affairs president Mary Lowe yesterday.

‘This is an impressive achievement of which John and Tracey should be rightly proud,’ said Deputy Lowe.

‘Developing on-island talent in this way helps ensure staff are suitably equipped for roles within the prison, and demonstrates the committee’s wider commitment to ensuring people in key positions are suitably trained and qualified.’

Prison governor Dave Matthews said establishing the programme was one of the first tasks set for him when he took up his current position.

‘I am very proud of the fact that Guernsey Prison has been able to develop a robust accreditation process which will allow our staff the opportunity to progress to the highest levels in the service.

‘This has been made possible by using a model of on-the-job experience and supervision linked to formal learning and visits to other prisons.

‘John and Tracey have worked incredibly hard to achieve accreditation and they are both committed to ongoing professional improvement and the development of Guernsey Prison.

‘The accreditation is of real benefit because [local staff] tend to know the population, know the differences between here and the UK and can apply that experience.’

The makeup of Guernsey Prison, with different demographics all under one roof, means there is a real need for knowledge of the Guernsey population.

‘The complexity is much higher in Guernsey than it would be in the UK, so having that experience and knowledge is a tremendous benefit to me as governor,’ said Mr Matthews.