Getting prison education right: Priorities for the new government
This briefing makes 10 recommendations to the new ministerial team at the Ministry of Justice to transform prison education.
A new briefing, published by Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET), makes 10 recommendations to the new ministerial team at the Ministry of Justice to transform prison education.
The briefing – Getting prison education right: Priorities for the new government – examines the importance of prison education, explores why further reforms are needed and sets out how it can be changed for the better.
Among the recommendations for the new ministerial team are:
- Making it clear to everyone in the prison system that education is a priority for the new government
- Increasing funding for prison education to meet the needs of learners
- Reviewing the upcoming prison education contracts to consider whether they are fit for purpose
The briefing also addresses access to digital technology and the internet, support for teachers, and meeting the diverse needs of people in prison – as well as taking a longer-term view of the prison education delivery model.
The need for urgent action on prison education is clear. The majority of people who arrive in prison have literacy and numeracy levels below those expected of somebody leaving primary school. Despite this, nearly half of Ofsted inspections of prisons find education provision to be inadequate.
Ofsted’s most recent annual report noted that “the overall effectiveness of education, skills and work provision in prisons is poor and continues to decline”, while HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor has described prison education as “nowhere near good enough”.
At present, not only is prison education not of good enough quality, but not enough people can access it. The number of people who participated in a course in prison last year was 37% lower than a decade ago, while the number participating in a functional skills course — the fundamental English, Maths and ICT skills that people need for their working and personal lives — has fallen by 27% since 2014–15.
PET’s Chief Executive Jon Collins said:
Education in prison transforms lives. It gives people the skills that they need to unlock their potential, gain employment and become assets to their communities.
Decisions on prison education that are taken in the next few months will have significant long-term implications. The 10 recommendations we have set out for the new ministerial team at the Ministry of Justice provide a route to put prison education on the road to recovery.
We look forward to working with the prisons minister Lord Timpson and the rest of the ministerial team at the Ministry of Justice to ensure that these recommendations are implemented and people in prison have the opportunity to achieve their potential. Prison education is too important to be allowed to fail. We can and must do better.
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