ISFL Prison Consultancy & Incentivised Substance-Free Living

Helping Prisons Turn ISFL Policy Into an Effective Recovery Culture

SEETE provides specialist ISFL prison consultancy and implementation support to prisons seeking to establish, review or strengthen their Incentivised Substance-Free Living (ISFL) units.

Our approach combines professional practice with authentic lived experience of custody, substance misuse, prison culture, rehabilitation and recovery.

We understand that an effective ISFL is much more than designating a prison wing as substance-free.

For an ISFL to succeed, prisoners and staff need to understand its purpose, believe in its principles and contribute towards creating an environment where recovery, responsibility and positive behaviour become part of the culture.

SEETE works alongside prison leaders, staff, healthcare and substance misuse services, peer mentors and people in custody to help make that happen.

Discuss Your ISFL Requirements With SEETE

What Is Incentivised Substance-Free Living?

Incentivised Substance-Free Living units are dedicated prison environments for people who make a commitment to living substance-free.

Residents agree to expectations around behaviour and drug testing while receiving access to additional opportunities, activities or incentives designed to support recovery and positive progression.

The principle is straightforward:

create an environment where living substance-free is recognised, supported and worth protecting.

But establishing an ISFL unit and creating an effective ISFL culture are not necessarily the same thing.

The success of an ISFL can depend heavily upon the culture created by the people living and working within it.

That is where SEETE can help.

The SEETE Approach to ISFL

From Substance-Free Wing to Enabling Environment

SEETE believes successful ISFL units should be developed as enabling environments, not simply areas where prisoners are expected to abstain from drugs.

An effective ISFL should encourage:

• Personal responsibility and accountability
• Recovery and positive decision-making
• Meaningful prisoner participation
• Positive staff–prisoner relationships
• Peer mentoring and positive role models
• Purposeful activity
• Community responsibility
• Recognition of achievement
• Progression towards rehabilitation and release

The objective is to develop a community where residents begin to take ownership not only of their own recovery but also of the environment in which they live.

Why Lived Experience Matters

Understanding ISFL From the Prisoner's Perspective

Policies and operating models explain how an ISFL should function.

Lived experience helps us understand how it is actually experienced.

SEETE brings an additional perspective to ISFL development by helping establishments understand how policies, incentives, staff behaviour, peer influence, prison culture and communication may be interpreted by people living on the wing.

This can help identify the difference between what an establishment intends to achieve and what prisoners may actually experience.

SEETE can engage directly with residents and staff to explore:

What makes prisoners want to join the ISFL?

What makes them want to remain there?

Do residents genuinely value the incentives being offered?

Do prisoners understand what the ISFL is trying to achieve?

Do staff and prisoners share the same understanding of its purpose?

Do residents feel ownership of their community?

Are peer mentors being used effectively?

Does the environment genuinely feel different from an ordinary residential wing?

These conversations can provide valuable insight for establishments seeking to strengthen engagement and develop their ISFL culture.

SEETE ISFL Consultancy Services

SEETE's ISFL consultancy can be tailored to the needs and maturity of each establishment.

1. ISFL Review & Health Check

For prisons with an existing ISFL, SEETE can undertake an independent review of how the unit is operating.

This can include:

• Staff consultation
• Prisoner consultation
• Resident focus groups
• Observation of the wing environment
• Review of incentives and opportunities
• Review of peer mentoring
• Examination of communication and engagement
• Consideration of equality and cultural issues
• Identification of barriers to participation
• Review of the overall ISFL culture

Following the review, SEETE can provide prison leaders with practical observations and recommendations for development.

2. ISFL Implementation Support

For establishments developing or relaunching an ISFL, SEETE can support the implementation process.

This can include helping establishments consider:

• The identity and purpose of the ISFL
• Prisoner engagement before launch
• Resident expectations
• Behavioural agreements
• Incentive structures
• Staff engagement
• Peer mentor roles
• Community meetings
• Resident responsibilities
• Activities and personal development
• Communication materials
• Recognition of achievement
• Progression pathways

The aim is to help establish a model that staff can deliver consistently and prisoners can understand and engage with.

3. Prisoner Consultation & Co-Production

SEETE can facilitate structured consultation with prisoners to ensure their voices contribute constructively to the development of the ISFL.

This is not about allowing prisoners to determine prison policy.

It is about understanding the people who will be expected to engage with that policy.

Structured prisoner consultation can help establishments understand barriers, identify appropriate incentives, improve communication and create greater ownership of the ISFL community.

4. ISFL Staff Awareness & Development

Staff are central to the success of an ISFL.

SEETE can provide ISFL awareness and development sessions for prison staff, exploring the purpose of Incentivised Substance-Free Living and the role staff relationships, consistency, communication and culture can play in creating an effective recovery environment.

Sessions can explore:

• Understanding ISFL principles
• Recovery-focused environments
• Staff–prisoner relationships
• Consistency and boundaries
• Motivation and engagement
• Understanding prison culture
• Lived experience perspectives
• Cultural awareness
• Supporting positive behaviour
• Working effectively with peer mentors

Our approach is designed to support staff rather than lecture them, combining operational understanding with lived experience perspectives.

5. Accredited Peer Mentor Training

Peer mentors can play an important role in establishing a positive ISFL community.

SEETE provides accredited prisoner mentor training to equip suitable residents with the skills required to support others responsibly and effectively.

Training can include:

• Active listening
• Communication
• Mentoring skills
• Professional boundaries
• Confidentiality
• Safeguarding
• Motivation
• Conflict management
• Leadership
• Personal responsibility
• Positive role modelling

Peer mentors should not replace professional services.

Their role is to complement them by providing credible peer support and helping reinforce the values and expectations of the ISFL community.

Learn More About SEETE's Accredited Prisoner Mentor Training

Creating an ISFL Community

SEETE believes one of the strongest indicators of a successful ISFL is whether residents begin to see themselves as members of a positive community rather than simply prisoners allocated to another wing.

That means developing opportunities for residents to contribute.

Depending upon the establishment, this could include:

• ISFL community meetings
• Peer mentors
• Recovery champions
• Resident representatives
• Welcome and induction support
• Personal development activities
• Recognition of achievement
• Community responsibilities
• Peer-led activities
• Progression opportunities

The aim is to create an environment in which positive behaviour becomes socially reinforced within the community itself.

Measuring Progress & Impact

SEETE can also work with establishments to consider how the development of an ISFL is monitored.

Measures will depend upon the establishment and available data but could include:

• Resident engagement
• ISFL applications and waiting lists
• Retention
• Drug testing outcomes
• Violence and incidents
• Self-harm
• Adjudications
• Staff perceptions
• Prisoner perceptions
• Participation in purposeful activity
• Peer mentoring engagement
• Progression into education, employment or other interventions
• Successful completion or progression from the ISFL

Alongside quantitative measures, structured feedback from prisoners and staff can help establishments understand why something is or is not working.

Independent ISFL Review

What Does Your ISFL Feel Like to the People Living and Working There?

An establishment may have the correct processes, policies and structures in place while still experiencing challenges with engagement, culture or participation.

SEETE can provide an independent ISFL Review & Lived Experience Health Check.

We can spend time within the establishment speaking with staff, residents and relevant partners, observing the environment and identifying areas of strength and opportunities for development.

The establishment can then receive a concise findings and recommendations report to support future development.

This service can be particularly useful for:

• Existing ISFL units requiring review
• Relaunching an ISFL
• Low prisoner engagement
• Difficulties attracting residents
• Staff engagement challenges
• Underused incentives
• Weak peer mentoring arrangements
• Cultural or equality concerns
• Developing a stronger recovery identity

Enquire About an ISFL Health Check

Who We Work With

SEETE welcomes enquiries from:

Prison Governors and Directors

Heads of Reducing Reoffending

Heads of Residence

Drug Strategy Leads

Safer Custody Teams

HMPPS and MoJ Commissioners

Healthcare and Substance Misuse Services

Equalities Teams

Prison Learning & Skills Teams

Private Prison Operators

Voluntary and Community Sector Partners

Our ISFL services can be commissioned as a standalone review, consultancy project, staff development programme, prisoner consultation exercise or combined implementation package.

Work With SEETE

Strengthening Incentivised Substance-Free Living Through Lived Experience

An ISFL has the potential to become much more than a substance-free residential unit.

With the right culture, relationships, opportunities and community ownership, it can become an environment where people experience a different way of living while still in custody.

SEETE combines lived experience, prisoner engagement, professional practice, mentoring and rehabilitation expertise to help establishments develop that environment.

If your prison is developing, reviewing, relaunching or seeking to strengthen an Incentivised Substance-Free Living unit, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your objectives.

Contact SEETE About ISFL Consultancy

Request an ISFL Review / Health Check