Hello,
“Cake, if you think about it, LandWorks is like a cake.” That’s how Graham described it to me. You probably know Graham – he runs our amazing wood workshop, and yes, he does love cake!
So many people (supporters, partners etc) find something about LandWorks that they connect with. It’s not always the whole “cake”, but perhaps a slice or two, or sometimes more. The cake itself is so varied that there is something for almost everyone to take away.
Graham and I agreed that the icing is often seen as our low reoffending rates. Yes, they are good, but that can distract from the really important part beneath the surface.
It’s the journeys our trainees undertake, leaving drug addiction, rebuilding relationships, moving away from social exclusion, and becoming part of a community again. They learn the basics of how to work, how to relate, and how to live differently.
These journeys are incredible, and each progression away from crime effects many people (family, friends and the community). It is all this impact, not just the headline of whether someone has reoffended or not, that matters.
So while reoffending rates may be the icing and not the whole cake, last week we got very important independent recognition of that icing. The Ministry of Justice’s Justice Data Lab (JDL) have undertaken a rigours analysis of LandWorks reoffending rates, and their report published last week confirmed that the charity is making a real difference. In their (statistically careful) words:
“This analysis provides evidence that support from LandWorks decreases the number of proven reoffenders during a one-year period.”
“The overall results show that men who participated in LandWorks were less likely to reoffend than those who did not take part. This result is statistically significant.”
It may not sound that dramatic, but it is notoriously difficult to get a positive result following JDL analysis. And the level of reduction in reoffending they identified for LandWorks is very notable by their standards.
This is a very positive result, underpinning all that we do and demonstrating that combining purposeful activity with highly personalised support, delivered in a positive environment over sustained periods, can make a real difference.
As Graham says, the MoJ have provided us with some great sprinkles to go on the icing.
I think we now have a recipe here for a rehabilitation resettlement “cake” that everyone can understand and it works.
Chris
7th May 2026