A prison workshop set up for Build to Bond
For prisons & commissioners

run build to bond in your prison.

An OCN Level 2 accredited manufacturing course, delivered in your workshops by your staff — trained by us. One setup, repeatable cohorts, no ongoing fees.
Start a conversation →See the programme
The model

self-delivery: we set up, we train, you run it.

Nationally, just 20% of prison-leavers are in work six weeks after release, and the proven reoffending rate is almost 30% (MoJ, 2024–25). Practical, accredited skills change those odds. Built for prison industries and education teams: we install the workshop, train your staff to deliver the course, and support your first cohorts — then the capability stays in-house.

  1. scope

    A site visit with your industries or education team: workshop space (Lowdham runs in 2,000 sq ft), security and tool-control requirements, cohort size agreed for your regime.

  2. set up

    Jigs, tooling and materials installed — a one-time setup, typically £7–10k depending on your workshop.

  3. train your team

    We train your instructors and workshop staff to deliver the course themselves — 14 prison staff so far, and more than ten Makers have become peer mentors. The capability stays in-house, with no ongoing fees.

  4. deliver & accredit

    Repeatable six-week cohorts, budgeted around £8,500 each including materials and OCN Level 2 accreditation.

  5. family visit day

    Each cohort ends with Makers presenting the balance bikes they built to their own children — the bike goes home.

90%course completion · BBC programme records
OCN Level 2Workshop Skills and Sustainable Manufacturing
Self-deliveryyour staff, trained by us — no ongoing fees
108contact hours per Maker — six weeks, 18 a week
Budget guide

what it costs — in grant-budget terms.

Reoffending costs the public purse £40,000+ per person per year (MoJ). Against that, the numbers below are small — and cohorts at existing sites have been grant-funded in full or in part. We'll help you make the case.

~£180

per kit

One balance-bike kit — the build each Maker completes and gives away.

~£8,500

per cohort

Materials, delivery support and accreditation for one six-week cohort.

£7–10k

workshop setup

One-time capex: jigs, tooling and workshop fit-out, scoped to your space.

~£45k

full site-year

A year of cohorts at one site — the envelope a funder or governor can plan around.

Figures are indicative and depend on your workshop, cohort size and delivery pattern. We'll scope yours with you.

Security & safeguarding

built for the environment it runs in.

The programme has been shaped inside working prisons, with industries and security teams — not adapted afterwards.

  • Facilitators vetted for prison delivery
  • Designed around prison workshop security and tool-control requirements
  • Safeguarding-first: participants are never identified in our materials
  • Public-liability insured
  • OCN London accredited course, with portfolio evidence for every Maker
How to commission

three ways to bring it in.

Whichever route fits your site, it starts with a conversation and a workshop visit.

Direct

commission directly

For Learning & Skills Managers and Heads of Reducing Reoffending: a conversation and a site visit is the usual start.

Via your provider

through your education prime

We deliver alongside prison education providers — bring us in under your existing provision.

Funded

with a funder

Cohorts at existing sites have been grant-funded. We'll help you build the funding case for yours.

Innovative projects, such as Build to Bond, support rehabilitation and help people leave prison as better citizens, boosting the economy and keeping our streets safe.

Lord Timpson, Prisons Minister — Financial Times, September 2025
Build to Bond is established across four UK prison sites, at different delivery stages.

Working with

New Futures NetworkHM Prison & Probation Service
The National Lottery Community FundOCN London

Build to Bond is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Next step

talk to us about your site.

Tell us about your workshop space and your cohort, and we'll come back with a scoped plan and budget you can take to your governor or funder.

Start a conversation →Email info@bamboobicycleclub.org
Evidence from the wing

what the programme actually produces.

Independent coverage and our own delivery records from the sites now running.

  • recognition

    a balance bike in the National Justice Museum

    on public display

    A balance bike built by men at HMP Lowdham Grange was gifted to the National Justice Museum and is on public display in its Working Through It exhibition (opened June 2026).

All prison coverage →