.: Course information :.

Aim of Module:

To support the family relationships of prisoners during the prison sentence, and reduce recidivism, by building the couple's relationship skills and increasing competency in handling money issues as a "couple team".

Course Outline

How do we handle money together? Introduce the concept of the couple discussing and handling money together; firstly looking at how they were taught to handle money as children; how they have been handling money since they became a "couple".
Money and Spending. Look at typology generally and do questionnaire on "Money Character". The couple will do a workbook exercise and discuss what they have learned.
The effect of a prison sentence on couple money management. The couple will learn about communicating, decision making and power sharing and how they can work together to determine management of their finances. They will discuss who spends, who earns and how they can be a team.
Five Ways to Manage Money well. The couple will learn and do a group exercise looking at Spending Awareness, Planning = Budgeting, Reviewing, Managing Credit and Avoiding Debt, Saving for a "Rainy Day".
Spending Awareness. They will discover that they need to start from where they are now and will look at a spending record demo. They will briefly look at the advantages of preparing a budget
Spending Record Feedback. Group discussion on what has been learned and couple communication exercise on action points. They will learn how to use a spending record and recieve tips on wise spending.
Planning for the Future. Planning to avoid debt, saving money, agreeing priorities, needs/wants will all be discussed; conflict resolution and the power of forgiveness will also be revised. A couple negotiation exercise will be used.
How to Budget. An example budget will be presented and taught. Group participation will encourage course participants to realise the value of knowing exactly how their money is being spent.
Personal Budgeting. The group will be encouraged to draft their own budgets and discuss together as couples. They will then look at changes they can make to earning and spending.
Managing Credit and Avoiding/Dealing with Debt. The couple will gain understanding about working towards being debt free and will be given signposts on where to go for help.
Saving for a "Rainy Day". They will look at saving strategies and understand their value and do a workbook exercise on this concept. They will again look at the effectiveness of working as a "couple team" rather than managing money alone.

HOME TOGETHER WORKSHOP

Aim of Course:

To support prisoners nearing the end of their sentence and their partners. It provides an opportunity, in a structured setting, to discuss and prepare for some of the issues that they will face together when the prisoner is released.

Subjects covered in the Workshop:

Work
Money
Relationship with partner
The practicalities of living together
Relationship with kids
Avoiding re-offending

Full details of all the above courses are available to prisons on request. Please contact us on the email address at the foot of this page.

Meets Reducing Re-Offending Pathways 5 (Finance, Benefit & Debt), 6 (Children & Families of Offenders) and 7 (Attitudes, Thinking & Behaviour)
Accredited at Entry & Level 1 OCN Innovative peer training & mentoring programme being developed

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This is an innovative 6-day programme for all UK prisons, designed to embed relationship and domestic finance skills in the offender/ex-offender community and their families Building Stronger Families: Building Relationships Together Parenting Together Handling Money Together Home Together Workshop Course Programme Rationale Time for Families is a charity that aims to support family life by improving relationshps between couples, parents and children, friends and the extended family. TfF does this by teaching a core curriculum of knowledge, skills and attitudes that promote positive and healthy interpersonal relationships. Building Relationships Together Research has shown that it is possible to make a relationship better than it is. The principles are that we need to increase the good things and decrease the bad. The good aspects of a relationship are showing love, forgiving one another and being committed to each other. The bad aspects are poor communication, especially speaking with contempt and being unable to negotiate conflict. Aim of Module: To support the relationships between prisoners and partners during the prison sentence and reduce recidivism by building up and strengthening them as a couple. Course Outline How can couples communicate in a more effective way? Finding out what communication is, looking at bad and good listening habits and deciding how to communicate in a more effective way through discussion and group exercises. Discussing the importance of good communication What is the importance of Emotional Needs? Identifying the emotions everyone is born with and those life teaches. Discussions and group exercises about what happens when we lose control of our emotions and the emotional dam breaks; looking at the process of repair and meeting each other's emotional needs through Love Languages etc. Discussion on the couples' hope and aspirations for their futures together What are the STOP signs? Coming to an understanding of how damaging the STOP signs are to a relationship: Scoring Points, Thinking the Worse, Opting Out, Putting Down. Helping individuals to recognise if they are practising STOP and helping them make the commitment to stop doing STOP with their partners The importance of Forgiveness in any relationship. Discussing how unforgiveness can have a harmful effect on couple relationships; talking through the steps to forgiveness and the effects of forgiving, refusing to forgive and needing time to think things through. Talking about the need for a strong relationship to be able to see this process through. How we cope differently with feelings of anger. Discussing when it is right to be angry and when it is destructive; group exercises on how we express our anger in different ways; deciding individually how we can calm down and avoid expressing anger in destructive ways. Difference between irritations and hurts and how to resolve conflict. Reassurance that all couples have to work through conflicts in their relationships. Discussing the thought that the relationship should be more important that the issue and ways to resolve the conflict issue in the light of this. The necessity of making Good Choices if we are to strengthen our relationship. Group scenarios showing how we can all make good and bad choices in our relationships. Talking about the effect on the relationship if good or bad choices are made; discussing ways to ensure we make good choices. Is our relationship stronger if we make a commitment one to another? Discussing what a couple needs to put into a relationship to make it last. Talking about the difference between "sliding" into a relationship and "deciding" to commit to each other. Discussing the different ways that men and women tend to view commitment. *Parenting Together* Aim of Module: To support the family relasionships of prisoners during the prison sentence, and reduce recidivism by building on the couple's relationship skills and increasing competency in handling parenting issues as a "couple team" Course Outline What do new parents want for their children? Group exercise and discussions about hopes and aspirations for our own children and deciding which are the most important. Introduce concept of couple being parents together - something that comes out of relationship What makes a family? Identify important people in own family; talk about different kinds of families - step families etc; how we fit together; encourage discussion about what sort of families participants grew up in and whether they were affected by the experience. Look at children's differing characters. Child Development and Behaviours. Understanding and moving our children from dependent to independent, parents moving from having total responsibility for child to giving child responsibility for their own actions; developmental stages; typical behaviours in development; discussion & exercises The Four Main Parenting Styles. Firm/Soft & Warm/Cold diagram; discuss each of the parenting styles and then how participants were parented themselves and whether this has influenced the way they raise their own children; take participants to the idea of firm/warm as being the ideal parenting style; look at how we get there from where we are now Families in Prison and Step Parent Model. Talk about challenges faced when one parent is in prison; look again at step parenting and blended families; talk about strategies and do exercises Becoming an Authoritative Parent. Return to warm/firm parenting style and use parenting pyramid, talk about building in special time, praise and rewards with your child before tackling discipline issues; understand various strategies to implement this using discipline toolbox Parents handling conflicts together. Talk about the issues we are facing now and what the underlying problems are - is it step-parenting; is it being in prison etc. Return to conflict resolution teaching from Couples Module; STOP signs, Emotional Needs and the Emotional Dam should also be re-visited to reinforce the idea of being in this together Parent Action Plan and Assessment Summary. Talk together about future parenting related goals, referring back to topics covered in first two days. Decide specific goals each couple can work towards to improve and stabilies within their current family situation. Talk about how the partner in prison can be a part of this strategy and how he/she can help to reinforce it. *Handling Money Together* Aim of Module: To support the family relationships of prisoners during the prison sentence, and reduce recidivism, by building the couple's relationship skills and increasing competency in handling money issues as a "couple team". Course Outline How do we handle money together? Introduce the concept of the couple discussing and handling money together; firstly looking at how they were taught to handle money as children; how they have been handling money since they became a "couple". Money and Spending. Look at typology generally and do questionnaire on "Money Character". The couple will do a workbook exercise and discuss what they have learned. The effect of a prison sentence on couple money management. The couple will learn about communicating, decision making and power sharing and how they can work together to determine management of their finances. They will discuss who spends, who earns and how they can be a team. Five Ways to Manage Money well. The couple will learn and do a group exercise looking at Spending Awareness, Planning = Budgeting, Reviewing, Managing Credit and Avoiding Debt, Saving for a "Rainy Day". Spending Awareness. They will discover that they need to start from where they are now and will look at a spending record demo. They will briefly look at the advantages of preparing a budget Spending Record Feedback. Group discussion on what has been learned and couple communication exercise on action points. They will learn how to use a spending record and recieve tips on wise spending. Planning for the Future. Planning to avoid debt, saving money, agreeing priorities, needs/wants will all be discussed; conflict resolution and the power of forgiveness will also be revised. A couple negotiation exercise will be used. How to Budget. An example budget will be presented and taught. Group participation will encourage course participants to realise the value of knowing exactly how their money is being spent. Personal Budgeting. The group will be encouraged to draft their own budgets and discuss together as couples. They will then look at changes they can make to earning and spending. Managing Credit and Avoiding/Dealing with Debt. The couple will gain understanding about working towards being debt free and will be given signposts on where to go for help. Saving for a "Rainy Day". They will look at saving strategies and understand their value and do a workbook exercise on this concept. They will again look at the effectiveness of working as a "couple team" rather than managing money alone. HOME TOGETHER WORKSHOP Aim of Course: To support prisoners nearing the end of their sentence and their partners. It provides an opportunity, in a structured setting, to discuss and prepare for some of the issues that they will face together when the prisoner is released. Subjects covered in the Workshop: Work Money Relationship with partner The practicalities of living together Relationship with kids Avoiding re-offending Full details of all the above courses are available to prisons on request. Please contact us on the email address at the foot of this page. Meets Reducing Re-Offending Pathways 5 (Finance, Benefit & Debt), 6 (Children & Families of Offenders) and 7 (Attitudes, Thinking & Behaviour) Accredited at Entry & Level 1 OCN Innovative peer training & mentoring programme being developed Return to the top of the page
Telephone: 020 8778 8556 London Address: c/o "Here for Good" 17 Sydenham Road, London SE26 5EX E-mail: info@timeforfamilies.org.uk rob.askew@timeforfamilies.org.uk (Yorkshire & Humberside Regional Co-ordinator) Company registered in England and Wales Limited by Guarantee No. 3743907 Registered Charity No. 1076744 Design by MH Creative Media Ltd