• Rehabilitation rests on investment in education

    David Gauke’s recent speech on prison reform had a lot in it to like, writes Peter Cox, who explains what he sees as the next steps The justice secretary recently outlined his views on the role of prisons within society. Sitting in the audience, I was struck by his honest overview of a prison system…

    5.00 Mar. 18th, 2018 | Opinion

  • Tender delay with single awarding organisation plan for prisons

    Plans by the Ministry of Justice to appoint single awarding organisations for seven areas of study in prisons have been hit with a hold-up to the tender launch. The initial approach to market for this already delayed process was to have been officially opened on September 21, and the contract was to run for a…

    18.35 Oct. 9th, 2017 | News

  • Education is the missing piece in David Lammy's race review puzzle

    The criminal justice system in this country disproportionately affects people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds, and prison education is failing them, says Nina Champion The overwhelming message from David Lammy’s groundbreaking new report is the depressing lot faced by minorities at every stage of life: from school exclusions, to engagement with the police, to…

    15.52 Sep. 8th, 2017 | Opinion

  • Prison education and training needs fixing - here's how

    Prison education has been sidelined for too long and major change is needed now, says Rob Mills The general election brought us our third justice secretary in under two years. And with Dame Sally Coates’ report into prison education now a year old, the white paper on prison safety and reform not fully implemented, and…

    5.00 Jul. 19th, 2017 | Opinion

  • Prison education reforms on hold for another year

    Reforms to prison education seem to be back on hold, as existing offender learning contracts are being extended for another year, FE Week has learned. Currently, the offender learning and skills service (OLASS) is delivered by three colleges and one independent learning provider, whose contracts are managed by central government. This state of affairs had…

    10.00 Jun. 24th, 2017 | News

  • Changes to justice system will affect those working in FE colleges

    Recent policy changes to keep more young offenders out of custody will affect those working at FE colleges, says Sally Alexander The prisons and courts bill published today promises to “enshrine into law that a key purpose of prison is to reform and rehabilitate offenders, as well as punish them for the crimes they have committed”. …

    17.10 Feb. 23rd, 2017 | Opinion

  • Prison learning needs more staff to succeed

    While prison reform is to be welcomed, simply dealing with the staff shortages would solve many of the barriers to learning, says Sally Alexander. Prison reform has been a hot topic of conversation since Michael Gove was appointed as justice minister back in May 2015. With his sudden exit earlier this year, the sector has…

    13.00 Nov. 13th, 2016 | Opinion

  • Prisoners to work towards apprenticeships

    Offenders will be able to work towards an apprenticeship while in prison for the first time under new plans put forward by the government. The new prisoner apprenticeship pathway, set to be introduced next year, is one of a number of proposals to reform prison education included in the Prison Safety and Reform white paper,…

    17.00 Nov. 4th, 2016 | News