Steps makes giant strides

POSITIVE Steps Oldham has won a prestigious national award by proving community sentences do work.

The organisation battled against 99 other entries to come second in the education, training and employment category of the Howard League for Penal Reform awards.

Positive Steps won for creating an innovative IT model which is being used by the Youth Offending Service to help them work with and develop opportunities for young people.

The model is now being tried out nationally.

Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye, presented the award to Steph Bolshaw, director of Oldham Youth Offending Service in a ceremony in London.

The awards were launched in November, 2005, to increase public and Government support for community sentences.

The organisers believe that well-resourced and well-structured programmes will raise public protection, bringing down the rate of reoffending, and repay the damage done by crime in a way which custodial sentences cannot.

Ms Bolshaw said she was thrilled that her team’s model had been recognised nationally.

She added: “We are doing really well here in Oldham at getting young people back into education and onto employment.

“Other areas are finding it really difficult.”