Between 15 and 30 September 2025. four national training sessions for prison officers were delivered in Poland as part of the Child Trust project, organised by the Małopolska Probation Association. Each session brought together 15 participants (60 in total), with a strong representation of women, and most attendees having fewer than four years of professional experience.
The programme followed the training curriculum “Balancing Security and Quality Communication”, developed within the Erasmus+ co-funded project CHILD TRUST – Children visiting parents – TRaining EU prison STaff, which promotes a child-sensitive approach and supports family connections in the context of imprisonment. The sessions drew on Nonviolent Communication (NVC), inviting participants to reflect on their own beliefs about children visiting prisons, deepen their understanding of children’s rights to maintain contact with an imprisoned parent, and build practical skills through exercises focused on recognising and naming emotions and needs—both the child’s and their own. Participants also practised formulating messages that can offer reassurance and help reduce a child’s stress and anxiety.
A key component was the exchange of good practices, as officers pointed out that—even within the same regional district—rules and acceptable approaches to working with children can differ substantially depending on each facility’s internal regulations. One of the core exercises, designed around real situations described by officers in their application forms, asked small groups to use “needs cards” to identify what a child might be needing in a given scenario. This helped participants see needs that are not always immediately visible, or may be masked by a child’s behaviour, while also creating space to acknowledge their own needs—often overlooked under stress and time pressure.
The training concluded with a screening of The Voice of Children, which sparked a meaningful discussion: while some participants initially felt that children should not come to prison, by the end most described a clear shift in perspective and recognised their vital role in ensuring that children’s visits take place in the best possible, least stressful conditions. More than 70% of participants also expressed interest in joining the project’s international training.
