HMPPS Small Grant Scheme - Trauma Informed Resilience HMP/YOI ISIS
We’re seeking a dynamic facilitator to run a trauma informed intervention for prisoners who demonstrate challenging behaviour which offers mindset workshops to address young prisoners view to violence. The goal is to support them to change their behaviour by developing a positive mindset by delivering in-custody workshops that focus on identity, race and self-worth, managing anger and emotional regulation, conflict resolution and health boundaries, rebuilding trust and self-esteem, future planning and goal setting. All learners completing the course and workbook will be offered a celebration event including family members. This course can offer an accredited or non-accredited certificate of completion and should offer the ability to reflect and prepare for life after the programme.
- Opening date: (Midnight)
- Closing date: (Midday)
Contents
Summary
MoJ and HMPPS recognises that VCSE organisations are a huge contributor to the running of the prison service and working with people in prison. The empowering legislation for this grant is section 6 of the Offender Management Act 2007
HMP/YOI Isis are planning to run trauma informed intervention for prisoners who demonstrate challenging behaviour which offers mindset workshops to address young prisoners view to violence. Being able to work together with others to achieve a common goal, will help to reduce the risk of harm both in prison and in preparation for release. The programme shall consist of an in-custody programme as well as emotional support throughout.
The supplier shall deliver a course to support prisoners with their goal of changing their behaviour by developing a positive mindset by delivering in-custody workshops that focus on identity, race and self worth, managing anger and emotional regulation, conflict resolution and health boundaries, rebuilding trust and self-esteem, future planning and goal setting. It should offer a safe space to speak, learn and be heard. All learners completing the course and workbook will be offered a celebration event including family members.
This
course can offer an accredited or non-accredited certificate of completion and should offer the ability to reflect and prepare for life after the programme.
Many of our young men have suffered trauma, either directly or indirectly and continue this cycle of traumatic behaviour prior to and in custody. HMP/YOI Isis, as part of it’s “Peaceful Prisons Plan” has a Growth spur where some of our most challenging young men reside. This challenging behaviour may be due to violence, disruption, bullying or substance misuse and most of the young men located on the Growth spur do not engage in purposeful activity either due to their behaviour or a perceived threat to them. There is therefore a great need for an expert-led, specialist intervention focusing on self-improvement. Prisoners will develop and improve transferrable skills relating to employment by completing this course (identity, emotional resilience and personal growth). They will also be given support with understanding their behaviour, emotions and their future goals.
The grant scheme will run for approx. 4 months, from March 2026 - July 2026.
The total available for the grant is £10,000.
The total grant amount will be paid in advance, provided that the grant recipient has given sufficient assurance that the grant will be used for the stated purpose.
Eligibility
The award is open to VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations)
The voluntary sector organisation(s) or consortium receiving the grant from HMPPS, should be a registered charity or social enterprise.
Any organisation applying for funding must demonstrate that it meets the due diligence criteria before any award is made. The funding will only be given to organisations where their annual turnover is at least twice the amount of the funding that they are seeking.
Grant funding cannot be used to deliver core services which HMPPS should be delivering
Objectives
· Make a meaningful impact on the lives of individuals seeking positive change.
· To improve people’s experience of prison and probation through the rehabilitation activities.
· To support an individual’s rehabilitation and desistance journey; and
· To improve our knowledge about what activities, work to support people and to encourage rehabilitation and desistance.
Dates
The grant is open for applications until midday 2nd February 2026.
The grant scheme will run for approximately 4 months from March 2026 to July 2026
How to apply
In order to submit a compliant application, applicants must complete all questions in the Apply for a Grant application form. Please note and do not exceed the word counts for each answer. Any information that is included once the word count is exceeded will not be evaluated and will not count towards the evaluated score. Responses must not include diagrams, tables, images or similar.
Applicants are permitted to submit clarification questions via email to HMPPSGrants@justice.gov.uk. For transparency, this advert will be updated throughout the competition to include any responses to questions asked by applicants.
Further information from clarification questions:
No further information.
To be eligible for funding under this grant applicants must achieve the minimum threshold score of 3 averaged across all technical questions otherwise they will be removed from the competition process. The scoring criteria is outlined below:
Score Interpretation
5- Exceeds the requirement. Exceptional demonstration shown for the proposal, how the project will be delivered, and extensive past experience detailed.
4 - Satisfies the requirements and has minor additional benefits. Above average demonstration across all questions.
3 - Satisfies the requirements. Demonstrates understanding and ability to a satisfactory standard.
2 - Satisfies most of the requirements with some minor reservations relating to the experience, understanding and/or ability. Whilst mostly the question has been answered in a satisfactory way, one element has been omitted/offers insufficient evidence.
1- Major reservations about the experience, understanding or ability demonstrated, with little to no evidence to
support the questions. More than one element has been omitted.
0- Does not meet the requirement. Does not comply or offer sufficient information to demonstrated experience, ability of understanding. Significant elements of the question has been omitted or not addressed to a satisfactory standard.
The Authority reserves the right to ask clarification questions about any elements of an application. These questions will not give applicants the opportunity to expand on the response and may only be used where applications contain minor errors or to clarify where the information presented is unclear.
The grant, if awarded, shall be awarded to the Applicant(s) who:
· has submitted an application in compliance with these instructions
· meets the eligibility criteria
· meets the minimum quality threshold of 3 questions
· achieves the highest technical score
Due diligence checks will be carried out before the award can be made. These checks may include, but are not exclusive to, financial, brand, assurance, and charitable status.
Supporting information
Conflicts of Interest
The Authority is required to prevent conflicts of interest occurring in this competition and may disqualify applicants if an actual or potential conflict of interest occurs in connection with the competition which cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated. The Authority may disqualify any applicant which attempts (or whose advisers attempt) to influence the competition in any way.
MoJ Disclaimer
The Authority shall not be committed to any course of action as a result of:
• issuing the competition documents
• communicating with an applicant or an applicant’s representatives or agents in respect of this competition exercise; or
• any other communication between the Authority (whether directly or by its agents or representatives) and any
other party.
All applicants accept and acknowledge that by issuing the competition documents the Authority is not bound to accept any bid and reserves the right not to award or conclude a grant for all or any of the costs for which bids are invited.
The Authority reserves the right to apply its discretion on the amount of funding that is to be awarded to the successful applicant(s). If only part of the application is acceptable, in terms of the stated deliverables, then the Authority may only award funding on that basis.
The Authority reserves the right to amend, suspend or terminate all or any part of the competition or its documentation at any time during the ITT.
The instructions in this advert, together with any other tender documentation are designed to ensure that all applicants are given equal and fair consideration. Applicants should read the instructions carefully to ensure they understand them and the conditions of participation before submitting their applications.
Failure to comply with these instructions regarding submission of the application response may result in its rejection. The Authority may reject Tenders which are substantially and materially incomplete, non-compliant, inconsistent, or vague.
Applicants should answer all questions as accurately and concisely as possible. Applicants are solely responsible for ensuring that their applications are free from error and accept that these cannot be modified after the submission deadline.
Costs incurred in submitting applications will be borne by applicants and will be defined as ineligible expenditure under the terms of the grant.
All information supplied by the Authority to applicants must be treated in confidence (unless already in the public domain) and must not be disclosed to third parties other than as is necessary for the purposes of preparing a Tender.