Government promises prison education service is coming – but when?

In-cell technology is set to be expanded and new employment advisors in prisons are being introduced

In-cell technology is set to be expanded and new employment advisors in prisons are being introduced

The government is pushing ahead with its manifesto promise of a prison education service, but has failed again to say when it will be introduced.

The new prisons strategy white paper also commits the Ministry of Justice to improve prisons’ and young offender institutions’ Ofsted grades year-on-year to bring them in line with local FE colleges.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman’s annual report, also released today, reveals around 60 per cent of all prisons and young offender institutions are graded ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate,’ compared to 20 per cent of other FE and skills sector providers.

Announcing the new white paper, justice secretary Dominic Raab said: “We’re re-orienting the regime to get offenders off drugs for good, and into work – to cut crime, and keep the public safe.”

Prison education service will help offenders ‘improve job prospects’

The white paper reforms are intended to ensure prisoners gain basic numeracy and literacy standards while inside.

The new prison education service will be training offenders with vocational skills such as construction and coding, which the government says will “improve their job prospects and steer them clear of crime”.

However, the white paper fails to make clear when the new service will be introduced – two years after it was promised in the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto.

The white paper also commits to a new drive to get offenders into work, through a new job-matching service which pairs convicts with vacancies in the community on release, as well as dedicated employment advisors in prison.

Six prisons set to be built over the next five years will include in-cell learning technology so offenders can access basic maths and English education, vocational skills such as IT and engineering, even driving theory tests so they can get a licence on release.

‘Significant’ investment needed or provision ‘will not improve’

Responding to the white paper, Prison Education Trust chief executive Jon Collins welcomed the “focus on getting people leaving prison into jobs,” but warned education is “the key building block that enables prison leavers to secure employment and urgently needs more funding”.

Plans to roll out digital technology need to “go further and faster,” he added, so the government “must put in-cell technology in place in every prison, new and old”.

Collins

“Without significant investment in teachers, technology, equipment and the physical environment, and without more prison officers around, prison education will not improve,” Collins said.

“If the government wants to succeed in its ambition to significantly boost the employment opportunities of prison leavers, the first step must be to get prison education right.”

Prisoner apprenticeships still in the long grass

These new reforms come after Ofsted and the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons launched a review in September into the “very poor” state of prison education.

The Commons education select committee is currently conducting its own inquiry into prison education, which heard last month from a panel of ex-prisoners of the “dreadful” provision and lack of communication from providers inside.

While the white paper says the prison education service will “equip prisoners to get jobs or apprenticeships after they leave custody,” no mention is made of allowing prisoners to take up an apprenticeship.

A prisoner apprenticeship pathway was mooted by the government in 2016, in collaboration with the Association of Employment and Learning Providers. But by 2019, this had failed to get off the ground, and the education committee heard from social justice charity NACRO last May that allowing prisoners to take up apprenticeships would require changing legislation.

Latest education roles from

Funding and Planning Manager

Funding and Planning Manager

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult & Community College

Head of Management Information Services and Funding

Head of Management Information Services and Funding

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult & Community College

Associate Assistant Principal: English, Maths or Science

Associate Assistant Principal: English, Maths or Science

Harris Federation

Teacher of Science

Teacher of Science

Harris Academy Clapham

Pastoral Manager

Pastoral Manager

Harris Academy Clapham

Lead Practitioner Science

Lead Practitioner Science

Harris Academy Clapham

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

Active IQ: Shaping the Future of the Active Leisure Sector with 11 New Qualifications

In the ever-evolving landscape of Further Education (FE), particularly in sectors requiring highly skilled, certified professionals, certainty is crucial....

Advertorial
Sponsored post

The days of blaming funding rules for ALS claw-back are long gone

Industry experts discuss why providers must act now for the betterment of student success and stop hiding behind the...

Advertorial
Sponsored post

Are we running out of STEAM?

In the 21st century, the education landscape has been dominated by the prioritisation of STEM subjects. Science, Technology, Engineering...

Advertorial
Sponsored post

The college roadmap to AI maturity – and a reskilled workforce

AI is poised to drive economic growth, reshape jobs, and transform industries, demanding urgent upskilling. Education must swiftly adapt,...

Code Institute

More from this theme

Prison education

Education at ‘neglected’ prison fails to improve

Despite improving English and maths provision, many prisoners still lack access to a ‘suitable curriculum’

Josh Mellor
Prison education

Young offenders denied legal right to education

Staff shortages are preventing both adults and children from attending education and training

Josh Mellor
Prison education

Prisons ‘lack resources’ for inmates to learn their way to liberty

Ministers are considering linking prison education to early release for the second time in a decade

Josh Mellor
Prison education

Prison teachers sue providers over alleged contract breaches

Claimants suing for nearly half a million pounds - an average payout of over £13,000 each

Anviksha Patel

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *