Two years ago, this market town prison was threatened with closure. Today it is operating beyond expectations and the future looks bright. Kate Bowman reports.

FITTINGLY described as "a small prison built on a roundabout", it is difficult to imagine that so much activity could go on behind the walls of this North Yorkshire prison.

One of the oldest in the country, a lot of character is locked in the brick painted walls, small cells and maze-like passageways of Northallerton prison. But within the ageing exterior is a centre of revolutionary thinking and innovative designs that work to give the inmates a positive outlook on their future.

The past 24 months have seen immense changes, both in terms of the role of the prison and in the approach taken to educate the young offenders. The prison role has shifted from housing people on remand to educating and resettling the 18 to 21-year-olds as they complete the last weeks of their sentences.

The principal figure reshaping the prison is Martin Ward. As prison governor he has become the driving force behind a programme of resettlement for the inmates, which comprises education, health care and sport.

"As a remand centre, Northallerton was one of the most expensive prisons to run in England - costing about £35,000-per-head a year," says Mr Ward. "Now offenders spend on average the last eight weeks of their sentence here, so the focus has shifted to rehabilitation and preparing them for life in the community."

Many of the prisoners spend more than five hours a day learning new skills in art and information technology, making use of the catering facilities and restoring broken wheelchairs in the charity workshop.

"There has been tremendous change over the last two years and we do some cutting edge work in the prison. We are trying to give them basic training to help them get a job," says Mr Ward.

"About 60 per cent of those in here have very basic literacy skills and so teaching has to be suited to their ability and needs. With the high turnover of people coming through our doors, intervention has to be quick, snappy and effective."

Jacqueline Wells, chair of the board of visitors says: "We have two choices - either they leave here and the taxpayers support them or we train them intensively to be able to go out and make their own money."

This strong approach to learning through an integrated education programme can be seen across the board, with staff in all departments working collectively to provide a broad level of teaching.

Says catering manager Bob Brown: "We hold theme nights where the lads learn about the food and culture of a certain country and they cook a meal native to that place for all the inmates."

The charity workshop got up and running a couple of weeks ago and the prisoners get hands-on experience using tools while repairing the wheelchairs supplied by the Inside Out Trust. The workshop is just one opportunity for prisoners to be awarded achievement certificates from New College Durham. These certificates - in anything from IT to catering - are seen by all staff within the prison as an essential aid for prisoners when looking for jobs in the outside world.

To further encourage the young offenders to take the right path when leaving the prison gates, a Job Club has been set up which teaches them about interview techniques and writing CVs.

Reform behind the prison walls has also had its effects on the hospital wing and gymnasium - where staff now focus on the prisoners' health and well-being before they take their first steps back in the outside world.

Health care manager Ged Wilkinson says: "Now the turnover of prisoners here is a lot higher, we try to teach them about health and safety, and about using the medical service as they would do in a community."

The prison also boasts an impressive range of gym equipment, which fills a sizeable room between the two prison wings. "We want to look the same as the leisure centres available to the public - that way some of these lads will continue to go once they are released," explains leisure assistant Glyn Walton.

Teaching the young offenders essential life skills has become a necessity since the prison introduced a system of tagging. The Home Detention Curfew (HDC) system allows the prisoners to live back in the community, while operating under certain restrictive rules, and helps them to resettle during a transitional period.

The outlook of Northallerton prison is stronger than it has been for years. Deputy governor Chris Dyer says it's all about building an infrastructure for the offenders and through a system of assessments and education preparing them for a safe life outside the prison walls. With the hope, of course, that they won't be returning.