An open prison sounds like an oxymoron, so how does Standford Hill work? Chloe Holmwood went to find out.

The definition of a prison is a place where people's freedom, movements and access to everything is restricted, usually as punishment for committing a crime.

But the mantra at Standford Hill is the direct opposite: it’s all about rehabilitation - where the focus is on resettlement, prisoners have their own key to their rooms and work outside the premises. So how does it work?

Governor Dawn Mauldon said: “As the men go through the prison service and eventually get to somewhere like this, can you imagine how they must feel?

"Not having to have their food at a certain time and being locked up at a certain time?

“All their doors are open and there’s no fence or wall. Some haven’t seen grass or a tree for years, apart from on TV.”

“When they get here, they have to free-up their minds and start thinking about getting back into the community and living a normal life,” she added.

“It’s all about them starting to make decisions and to take control of their lives again before release.”

Every prisoner at the Category D men’s prison has come from a closed prison, rather than straight from court.

Their sentences range from a matter of months to others that have been in for 20 years, for anything from fraud to murder.

However, their 'risks' have to be reduced before the parole board say they can be put in an open prison.

Gov Mauldon said: “Our strapline is: hope, learn, succeed.

“The hope now that they’re in an open prison; learning while they are here to get the skills to reintegrate back into society and get a job on release; and success is them going out of the gate and being really successful.

“We provide a lot of education and skills to get them back into industry and we do a lot of work to help them reintegrate with their families as well.”

What stuck out the most while touring the grounds though, was there was nothing stopping prisoners from leaving.

When asked what she thought stopped them from absconding, Gov Mauldon said: “I truly believe it is the hope that we give them as an establishment, and their own hope that in a couple of years they’re going to be released.

“If they do abscond, they’ll come straight back and go into a closed prison again.”

The prison's main focus is for men being put to work, either in the community, carrying out reparative work or paid employment, towards the end of their sentence.

Gov Mauldon said: “There’s no unemployment in this prison; every prisoner works, whether on site or off.”

She added: “The men aren’t locked in their cells, or rooms as we call them here, they have got their own key.

“We can lock them in their own spur, between 7.30pm and 8am, so they are physically locked on the wings but not in their rooms.

“Throughout the day, a proportion of men are either doing community work, training or paid work, a proportion will be at, say, hospital appointments and others will go on a resettlement day release to meet their families.”

Today, 464 prisoners are held at the prison and more than 200 of them go out of the premises daily.

Gov Mauldon said: “There is a massive risk assessment process before they are released.

“It’s a multi-agency approach that’s consulted before they are let out, but the benefits of keeping them here before just letting them straight out into the community after sentence far outweigh the risks.

“For day release, prisoners are monitored to make sure they are where they say they are - we know their exact whereabouts each hour and their exact route used each day, so I’m confident the public are really safe.”

Working outside

The national average for the amount of prisoners sent back to prison after re-offending is about 50%.

But in the last three years, Standford Hill has kept a record of its own and from November 2015 to November 2018, 4.76% of prisoners released from the open prison re-offended.

Ian Whittle, head of reducing re-offending, said: "If we give a man a roof to live under and a way to make money, it's less likely he will re-offend.

“It's all about stopping that revolving door.

“Our motto is about creating hope. Giving them learning that's not just for the sake of learning, but set up to give them employment upon release and give them an opportunity to live a law-abiding life after prison.

"They don't make a decision in a closed prison. We very much try to give that back to them so that they can know what everyday life is like on the outside.”

He added that about 55% of the men released from Standford Hill go into full-time paid employment.

Alan Wood, community engagement manager, said: “The men are constantly under supervision, constantly being checked up on, and they have got to come back here after work.

“They have got the law of the land to adhere to, like we all do, as well as additional conditions.

"But it's all about giving them that work ethic and a paid job before they leave.”

The prison has also teamed up with East Kent College for its EKC IntoWork scheme, from which prisoners can get qualifications in anything from IT to plumbing.

Ian said: “This is to give the men real knowledge, experiences and skills to get a job upon release.”

The governor

Dawn Mauldon grew up on the Island, went to Queenborough Primary School and the Sheppey Comprehensive School, before joining the prison service at 21.

Her first job was as a prison officer at Cookham Wood in 1987.

Since then, she has worked her way up and took over the top job at Standford Hill in November 2018.

When asked why she wanted to join the prison service, Dawn said: “I really felt I wanted to make a difference to these people who are a bit less fortunate than myself.”

Dawn is Standford Hill’s third female governor since it opened in 1950.

“There’s more and more female governors now,” she said, which is a stark difference to when she first started out.

“In 1988, there were only three female prison officers at Swaleside,” she said.

“My family were proud of me for taking on the job and I’m still very proud that I work for the prison service.”

The Old Mill Village

Part of the prison grounds is home to The Old Mill Village, which is open to the public.

There is The Emporium, which opened 18 months ago and stocks items such as clothing and homeware made by prisoners.

The majority of goods are crafted in an on-site wood shop, run by Angie Nicholson and Andy Muggridge.

Andy said: “The scrap wood and pallets are donated from the general public, staff or businesses. The prisoners then break things down and use it to make something new or refurbish old furniture.

“They make anything from garden dominoes and bird feeders to wishing wells.”

Also in the village is the Eastchurch Aviation Museum, The Old Mill Cafe and the Sheppey Honey producers.

The museum, which is aimed at preserving and highlighting pioneering aviation on Sheppey, is about to double in size.

The extension is set to start this month and should be completed by the summer.

Peter West, trustee of the Sheppey Heritage Trust, said: "We are very pleased to join in with the prison and help the stop re-offending schemes.

“It's one of the main mantras of The Old Mill Village."

Ian added: "The whole idea of this area is to reach out to the local public and get them to use this area.”

17 years inside

Among the prisoners is 'Mr T', a first-time offender who is serving a life sentence for murder.

He has done 17 years behind bars so far and has now been at Standford Hill for just over five months.

The parole board deemed it necessary for Mr T to be tested in open conditions before he is released, and he’s currently undergoing a number of reports and risk assessments to see if he is eligible for day release.

When asked how he felt being moved from a closed prison to open conditions, Mr T said: “It was a big shock.

"To even have greenery and sun, and having no walls, it was overwhelming.

“In a closed prison, it's very regimented. Here, the level of trust staff have given me to be in open conditions, to be at work on time and be where I am supposed to be on time, is such a relief, but it was quite difficult to get my head around when I first came.”

Mr T said he was looking forward to being able to go out on day release but said he was feeling apprehensive.

“I haven't been anywhere outside for 17 years,” he said.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity – it’s excitement, apprehension, nerves, but it's the next step.”

Mr T, who was 23 when he was jailed, said he does not think he would have coped if released from a closed prison.

"If we give a man a roof to live under and a way to make money, it's less likely he will re-offend" - Ian Whittle

“So much has changed on the outside. I saw on the telly that phones don't have buttons now and I can't get my head around that.

"Realistically, if you don't come to an open prison you won't last outside because it's such a change.

“For me, the opportunity to be slowly integrated back into society and with your family is so important.”

Mr T is currently working with the prison’s Working Out Scheme, helping other offenders find community work placements, training or paid work.

"It's like having a normal job outside, which is something I’ve got to get used to,” he said.

“Here it's a normal working environment, with normal civilian workers, and to be part of a team gives me a sense of identity again.

"I’m a serving offender but I’m getting my identity back and I hadn't had that opportunity until I got to Standford Hill.”

He added: “It's really given me the opportunity to prove to others that I’m not the risk I once.

When asked what stops him from absconding, Mr T said: “It’s the respect I have for my family and staff here who are supporting me, why would I jeopardise all that when I have got the best opportunity I have at this time? I should make the most of it.”

He added: "If I walk out that door when I'm not supposed to, the reality is I will go back to closed conditions for many years.

“I can't do that to myself and to the people who have supported me.

“This is not a life. This is punishment for the crime, don't get me wrong, but this is time for me to get my life back.”