The City & Guilds Foundation has awarded £50,000 to The Clink Charity to safeguard and strengthen The Clink Bakery at HMP Brixton; a life-changing vocational training programme that is equipping people in prison with the skills, qualifications and support they need to build stable lives after release.
About The Clink Bakery
The Clink Bakery opened in October 2022 at HMP Brixton, next door to The Clink’s award-winning restaurant. Operating as a real production kitchen, it provides learners with hands-on training in patisserie and confectionery, barista skills, customer service and nutrition, all delivered in a professional environment that mirrors the demands of the industry.
In 2019, The Clink Charity received a Princess Royal Training Award for its dedicated work training staff to better support offenders and reducing reoffending rates in the process. To-date it has equipped over 400 students with professional hospitality skills, offering a powerful pathway to rehabilitation beyond the prison gates.
What the funding will support
The £50,000 grant, awarded through the Foundation’s Supporting Rehabilitation fund, will enable the Bakery to continue delivering accredited City & Guilds qualifications to up to 40 learners per year, across programmes including General and Professional Patisserie & Confectionery, Level 2 Barista Skills, Level 2 Customer Service and Principles of Nutrition.
Critically, the funding protects a programme that was at risk due to public sector funding shortfalls, thus preserving a vocational pathway that has demonstrated proven, life-changing outcomes for its graduates.
Polly Rowe, Head of Programmes and Engagement at the Foundation explains:
“The Clink Bakery is exactly the kind of programme the Foundation exists to support. It combines rigorous, accredited training with the kind of wraparound care that helps people rebuild their lives; not just gain a qualification. At a time when public sector funding pressures are putting programmes like this at risk, we are proud to support vital pathways like these. The evidence speaks for itself: when people in prison are given real skills, real support and real opportunities, the outcomes for them and for wider society are transformative.”
A wraparound approach
Alongside skills training, learners receive comprehensive support from The Clink’s dedicated Support and Mentoring team, including personal development planning, employment preparation, help securing housing, and intensive one-to-one support during the first six months following release. This wraparound approach is designed to reduce reoffending and increase long-term stability, addressing not just what happens inside the prison walls, but what comes after it.
The difference it makes
The programme is designed to meet learners where they are. For those on shorter sentences who may not complete a full NVQ, the Bakery offers a structured progression through individual units and shorter qualifications that still improve employability and confidence. For all learners, the daily rhythm of professional kitchen work builds discipline, purpose and a positive work identity.
Donna Edmonds, Chief Executive, The Clink Charity adds:
“This funding from the City & Guilds Foundation comes at a critical moment for the Bakery, and we are enormously grateful for their belief in what we are doing. The Clink Bakery is more than a kitchen – it’s a place where people rediscover their potential, build confidence and start to imagine a different future. With this support, we can protect and grow a programme that we know changes lives and ensure that up to 40 learners a year have access to the qualifications, mentoring and employment support they need to make a lasting fresh start.”
Commitment to training for all
The Foundation’s investment reflects its commitment to supporting organisations that use skills and employment as a route out of the justice system. By helping to sustain The Clink Bakery, this funding ensures that people in prison continue to have access to high-quality, accredited training in addition to the mentoring and support that turns qualifications into second chances.