Bright Horizons opens new service in Holloway Prison

The Bright Space in Holloway Prison, North London, is a place where parents and children can relax and spend quality time together.

This is the 36th Bright Space. Other spaces have been set up in women’s refuges and police stations, as the charity strives to provide places of respite for families in crisis.

According to Bright Horizons more than 17,240 children were separated from their mothers in 2010 by imprisonment. The foundation is working to provide more Bright Spaces for the children of women in prison.

The new space at Holloway Prison has seen the main visiting room, the kitchen, the family room and the breastfeeding area transformed into enriching places for visiting times. Books, toys and games as well as comfortable seating allow parents and children separated by prison to spend time together in a child-friendly environment.

Julia Killick, governing governor at HMP Holloway, said, ‘At Holloway we work hard to enable women, while they are in custody, to have meaningful contact with their children. I am delighted with the improvements to the visit areas delivered by Bright Horizons, which go a long way in supporting this.’

Tracy Wilkes-Green, Bright Horizons’ foundation manager, said, ‘The Bright Horizons Foundation is proud to partner with Holloway Prison. Because there aren’t that many women’s prisons, women are often sent to a prison far away from their home.

‘This means a long, difficult journey for visiting families, which is particularly hard for the young children, making it vitally important that the time the children have with their mothers is the best it can be.’

Bright Horizons was named the community support winner in Nursery World's 2014 awards for its Bright Space initiative.