Claire Ashley joined Circles UK in January 2024 as our National Quality Manager.
Claire is responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of Circles, working with our Providers to review their processes, service delivery and impact, to ensure they meet the requirements of our funding contracts.
She also supports the delivery of our bespoke training programmes for organisations working with people who may be at risk of harming others, and is a member of the Circles Europe Board.
Claire tells us more about her role, her background, and why she is so passionate about the work of Circles UK.
A career working in the Criminal Justice System
I’ve worked in the criminal justice system for the majority of my career. Having studied criminology in my 20s, it’s something I’ve always been interested in.
I volunteered for Victim Support and that’s really something that sticks with you and makes an impact straight away. When you’re dealing with victims of crime and understanding the impact of crime on individuals and those with convictions, you begin to see the complex issues that are involved.
I went on to work in case management for Victim Support and became part of a steering group for the Youth Offending Team (YOT) in Reading. That then led to working for the YOT directly, setting up their victims and restorative justice team.
I was hugely interested in restorative justice as a means of working with victims and offenders to reach more positive outcomes for all.
I was working with victims of crimes such as domestic abuse and sexual offending, some of whom had been abused many years previously, and needed support to finally confront what had happened to them, and to get through the court process.
Restorative justice opened that up even more. It meant we could put victims at the centre of our focus, but invite those responsible for crimes into that space to hear the impact of their actions. It helps people realise there is a human being at the end of their offending and that whatever had happened to them, can cause lasting change.
For victims, they may also see an offender through a different lens, especially if they have a traumatic background and have struggled through life themselves, it creates a perception shift. We found that attendance at opportunities such as this was very high and often, a victim wants to help the person responsible, which is incredibly powerful for many reasons.
Working with people with convictions
My career path then moved to working more directly with people with convictions, first as a prevention manager, responsible for looking at the early onset of offending behaviours, then as assistant manager for another YOT, before working as a senior practitioner working with high-risk, vulnerable young offenders and supervising multi-disciplinary staff. I then progressed to team manager in the Youth Justice Service, supervising a multi-disciplinary team.
I also spent time managing an approved premises for women on probation, before obtaining my probation qualification and working as a probation officer, where I remained before joining Circles UK.
Why Circles UK?
Probation services work closely with Circles Providers as a way to offer a community-led solution for offender re-integration. As Circles UK is the national organisation that oversees the provision of Circles in England and Wales, I was aware of the charity and the good work underway.
The particular role advertised required skills I had gained for many years around data analysis and quality assurance.
When studying, I had looked at theories around sexual offending, so coming back to this focus on sexual harm brought me full circle back to my original research into this area. I’m also AIM trained within Youth Justice and have supervised others managing cases in which young people have caused sexual harm.
Tell us more about your specific role
Our Providers are funded to deliver their Circles, the majority via the Ministry of Justice, and it is crucial that they are delivering on the requirements of these contracts and providing a safe and effective service.
I work with them to make sure this is the case, conducting 2-yearly reviews which look at their adherence to a code of practice and to the various requirements of the contracts. They submit comprehensive evidence to us around this, then I spend time interviewing Core Members, Volunteers, trustees, senior managers, and organisations within the outer Circle, to learn more about their work and feedback.
We look though everything from governance and structure to risk management, finance, recruitment and service delivery.
Circles are based on a very clear and specific methodology which we know works. We’re dealing with sensitive matters, and high levels of risk, so the level of detail involved is very high.
It’s a complex and detailed work area but I am privileged to see and hear in detail, the in-depth work that is being delivered by each Provider, and the impact it is having on the Core Member, the Volunteers and everyone involved.
Aside from this part of my work, I also deliver training with my colleagues and am an active member of the Circles Europe Board and Research and Evaluation Group, and oversee the delivery of Circles ReBoot, which is designed specifically for online perpetrators.
Why are Circles so important?
One of the most interesting and powerful aspects of Circles is that they’re delivered by volunteers. These are people who have a real, vested interest in making sure the person they’re working with does not cause harm.
For Core Members, there are many who have never felt any kind of integration in a community so have always been isolated. Circles can respond to this, which means that any negative impact of this isolation can be addressed. Every Core Member I’ve interviewed has spoken so positively about their Circle, explaining how, even simple things, like getting on a bus or getting out of the house, are made possible because of their regular connection to their Circle.
This isn’t about providing care or attention to offenders more than victims, it’s about pro-active ways to stop them harming again. Marginalising people can drive them towards negative actions. Circles can hold these people accountable and spend real time with them, with real personal investment in helping them understand their behaviours.
What’s next for Circles UK
We’re always looking to broaden our reach and impact. There are some gaps in where our provision is available in the UK, so we’re very keen to bring on more providers.
We’re also continuing to promote the use of Circles ReBoot, which is aimed at those who commit online sexual offences.
Alongside this, it’s important that we continue to raise awareness and understanding of having this pro-active focus on offenders, with a view to reducing harm, so that our work and that of others in the sector is better understood.