Three fathers are sitting around a table inside one of Scotland’s highest security prisons.

The men are all serving longer-term sentences in HMP Shotts and are used to the machismo of prison life, but in this small room they talk openly about a subject that softens even the toughest of them – their children.

Here, they can discuss the worries they have for their families, the guilt they feel about being separated from them and even their sadness as Father’s Day approaches.

This openness is thanks to a ground-breaking parenting programme being trialled at the prison in a bid to help the dads better understand their children and build and maintain stronger relationships.

The course has already proven successful, with many of the dads increasing the number of visits with their children, and reporting –along with their families and prison staff – that their relationships have improved.

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The men themselves are also clear that among the myriad of courses available in prison, this is the one that has had the biggest impact on them.

So what makes this one different?

Brian*, an inmate who has a five-year-old son, claims the success of the Solihull Understanding Your Child Programme is that it shows prisoners that they can still have an impact on their child’s life even in jail.

“Guys in prison will admit to being a bad person, or doing bad things, but nobody wants to be a bad parent,” he said.

“It’s difficult, the main thing you feel is guilt, and you can tell straight away in here when guys are worried about their kids, you can see it on their faces.

“Now I say to them ‘have you done the Solihull training?’ because it’s made such a difference to me.

“It doesn’t tell you how to be a parent, it just reminds you that you can still be one in prison.”

The Solihull parenting programme is based on a model which is widely used across the UK by childcare and education providers.

It focuses on the emotional health and wellbeing of children and helps parents to understand their children’s behaviour by looking at their developmental stage and their environment, i.e. what is happening within their home or school.

For Brian, it means he is able to interact better with his son during their weekly two-hour visits.

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He said: “The visits used to mean running around trying to make it the best two hours it could be. If they misbehaved or things went wrong, you ended up stressed out trying to get it fixed sharpish.

“Now it’s easier to accept that sometimes it’s just going to be a visit like that, and the main thing is getting the relationship right.

“I used to be trying to get a kiss or a cuddle, saying things like ‘I miss you, do you miss me?’. But now I don’t ask him and when he does it, it means so much more.”

Another dad, Paul*, claims the course information on brain development at different ages has helped him to better understand his teenage son, while for John* the course has taught him to be more patient – not just with his children but with other inmates too.

More than 50 per cent of fathers in prison lose touch with their families while they are locked up, however research shows that if they maintain those relationships they are six times less likely to reoffend when they are released.

And it is not just the dads who benefit from keeping in touch.

According to figures from Families Outside, an organisation which supports prisoners’ families, around 25,000 children each year in Scotland are affected by parental imprisonment – more than the number affected by divorce or separation.

Research shows that having a parent in prison has a significant impact on children and is considered an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), which many experts believe can affect brain development and health and behaviours later in life.

However, good relationships can help to mitigate the impact of ACEs, which is why North Lanarkshire Council’s education department – in conjunction with local community group Getting Better Together – is running the 10-week programme at Shotts with funding from the Scottish Government’s attainment challenge.

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Cheryl Valentine, the Solihull co-ordinator for the local authority, said: “When your dad goes into prison, that is a bereavement for children.

“We know that it can impact on children’s emotional health and wellbeing and therefore on their ability to focus and learn at school.

“That is why education is involved, because the programme is also about closing the attainment gap for children.”

A total of 61 men – with more than 180 children and grandchildren between them - have now completed the programme at Shotts.

Ms Valentine is due to meet with the new prison governor next month to discuss taking the course forward and it is also being introduced at Addiewell Prison.

Back in the room at HMP Shotts, the men say they would like to see refresher classes introduced for dads who have already completed the programme.

As my time with the men comes to an end, the conversation turns to Father’s Day and their faces fall.

They will not see their children on Sunday and they know it is another occasion when they will ask why their dad is not there to celebrate.

Perhaps that is why they are so keen to ensure that the contact they do have with their children is enjoyable – from putting on plays to activities such as football and arts and crafts within the prison’s Family Time project.

As Brian said: “If you love your kids, you want to make sure that they have good memories of you, even in here.”

*The names in this article have been changed.