COMMENDEE 2024-25

Initial Recommendation

This nomination followed an initial recommendation from John Gibson, First Line Manager

Charlie Ross is a highly professional Prison Officer, a caring one and an officer since he commenced employment for the Scottish Prison Service who has been a role model for his peers. There are similar outstanding officers in the service but what sets Charlie aside, what makes him unique as opposed to rare, is he cares passionately for the lives he touches, he invests himself completely in a persons’ progress and devotes every single minute of his day into driving successful outcomes for the people in our custody.

Charlie retrained and attained the role of Physical Educational Instructor (PEI), determined now to drive the advantages he knew could be delivered from working with prisoners and showing them the benefits of being physically active and engaged. He helped developed the launch of and has led the renowned Community Sports Leaders Courses. His skills though continue to expand, he now also coaches in First Aid, Gym Instructor and Weight Management.

However it is with a world first that promotes this Officer above the ordinary. Charlie Ross researched, modified and adapted The Healthy Dads Healthy Kids (HDHK-P) initiative. He embedded the techniques and facilitated it in HMP Barlinnie with prisoners and their families, to provide a meaningful and resounding success which has helped many and supported the most disadvantaged in our custody. The delivery of HDHK-P by Charlie Ross at HMP Barlinnie has showcased the profound impact of the programme across a number of areas, demonstrating its capacity to positively influence the men, their children, and the adult family member accompanying them. Charlie exhibited exceptional skill, compassion and dedication emphasising the transformative effect of their efforts on the participants’ lives. For instance, the strengthened bond between staff and the men on the programme has led to increased usage of the gym and wellbeing facilities by the fathers.

Several participants said Charlie driving the HDHK-P had been instrumental in enhancing their mental health and overall wellbeing, citing increased self-awareness and the importance of learning new skills of active listening and being ‘present’ with their children. Finally, interviews with the staff Charlie was leading revealed how HDHK-P led to new interdepartmental collaborations, between the PEIs, Family Contact Officers, Wellbeing Centre, Cookhouse and Operations. The collaborative synergy among staff from these diverse sections, which is regarded as a significant and positive innovation within HMP Barlinnie, has generated a notable impact and has increased camaraderie and mutual support across diverse areas of the establishment.  This was as a result of the positive leadership of Charlie Ross.

Supporting Documentation

Testimonials

Professors Hunt and Gray (research team) shared their admiration for Charlie’s professionalism, skills, commitment, enthusiasm and compassion when delivering the programme. They observed all sessions and praised the skilful way Charlie engaged the men, teaching positive parenting skills and putting this learning into practice each week through rough and tumble play, teaching their children sports skills and doing fitness activities. The researchers were impressed by how prepared he was; skilfully responding to questions and the consequent depth of engagement of those attending. They noted how attentive he was, showing care, warmth and compassion towards the family members who accompanied the children to the programme. They noted the enthusiasm and enjoyment of the children, and their delight in having a different type of interaction with their fathers. They noted how the children’s confidence grew each week and how relaxed family members became. They noted how Charlie made them feel comfortable and at ease by openly addressing and explaining different aspects of the prison environment in response to the families’ questions. This approach and the positive relationships between Charlie and the fathers, was crucial in building trust and enjoyment among the children and accompanying family members.

Participant 1:  “I was part of Healthy Dads Healthy Kids Course that was run by Charlie. The course gave me the opportunity to bond with my kids in a different environment. Charlie is great with participants and families. He treats us all brilliantly, including our children. I think for the work he did he should be recommended”.

Participant 2 – “Charlie should be nominated for this award as he was amazing with my children on the course; going out his way to make them feel secure, wanted and showed them loads of skills in the gym. My kids would ask for him the second they came in and especially my daughter loved him. He made me feed human and broke the divide between prisoner and officer. This course should be rolled out through SPS as it is proof it works to maintain family contact”.

Additional Information

Charlie Ross led overall delivery of the Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids (HDHK) Programme and liaised with the Universities of Newcastle (Australia), Glasgow and Stirling in adapting the community-based programme for the Scottish Prison setting.

Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids (HDHK) is an exceptional achievement and marks an important innovation in the prisons provision for men in custody and their families. HDHK is a parenting programme for men that was originally developed by researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia but driven and delivered by Charlie in Barlinnie. The programme has been highly successful in engaging fathers in positive parenting in community settings across the world. Charlie has led the first-ever delivery of HDHK in a prison setting, worked closely with researchers to adapt HDHK for delivery to men in custody and their primary school children (aged 5-12 years) over eight weekly sessions.

Each week, Charlie included a 60-minute fathers-only education session focusing on parenting skills, physical activity, healthy lifestyle behaviours and mental health. This was followed by a two-hour family session, where the fathers first practiced positive parenting by guiding their children (aged 5-12 years) through 60 minutes of fun physical activities and sports skills. Finally, the whole family (including the mothers/other family members who had accompanied the children to the prison) sat down to have a meal together.

Charlie showed exceptional skill in adapting and working with the resources provided by the University researchers to engage the men and their families in all sessions. They went out of their way to ensure that the children and family members felt welcome, valued and comfortable in the prison setting. This is evidenced by feedback from the fathers and their family members expressing their appreciation of: the programme itself; the professionalism of the staff involved; and the respect staff showed towards the men, children and family members taking part.

The meal at the end of each session gave the families an opportunity to spend some quality time together and to further promote positive family relationships. The researchers reported that every family (fathers and mothers/mother figures) had commented on how important this chance to eat as a family in a relaxed atmosphere was to them and they clearly appreciated the efforts that the catering staff had made with the food and in extending the relaxed atmosphere of the gym to the dining area. Once again, Charlie and the catering staff, worked hard to ensure the meal was an enjoyable experience for the families; they asked the children each week what they would like to eat the following week and provided a range of options to suit all dietary requirements/preferences. This ensured that all children went home fully fed and provided some much-needed respite for their families from having to provide for them under often, very difficult, circumstances.

In summary Charlie has been instrumental in making the first-ever delivery of HDHK in a prison setting a huge success. He showed exceptional skill in taking ownership of the programme and went above and beyond to make each family feel valued and comfortable within the prison setting and to provide each father with the knowledge and skills to be a positive parent and role model to their children.

Sign Off

As a prison Governor, I strive to develop our staff to meet the modern day demands of the prison population in an ever more complex and demanding environment. Charlie epitomises the optimum skill set and attitude of the prison officer. He has shown an ability to care and support multiple roles throughout his career, having a real lasting impact on the lives of individuals and their families. Highly regarded among peers and prisoners, Charlie is a calm, professional and supportive influence on all staff who work with him and viewed as reliable helpful and approachable from the prisoner group. He is an exemplar to all staff on how to conduct themselves in all situations. His latest work amplifies his approach and ability in that he has driven the delivery of a new complex initiative and received exceptional feedback from the families and external partners, who point to Charlie as the focal point of that success.

Michael Stoney

Governor, HMP Barlinnie