Education in Prisons in England Penny Grant Joanne Mandell

Who are We?

Pact is a charity which supports people affected by imprisonment by providing practical and emotional support to prisoners' children and families, and to prisoners themselves.

What do we Do? Pact work at a number of prisons across the UK: Provides Integrated Family Support Workers. Runs family-friendly Visitor’s Centres outside the Prison. Organises and supervise children’s play services in prison visits halls. Facilitates their Basic Care in the Community Project helping ex-offenders to resettle back into the Community.

Kids VIP Programme? We provide advice, support and guidance to prisons to help make prison visits less stressful for children. We offer a number of training programmes for people who work in prisons or with people affected by imprisonment. We run a network of play workers who develop and share best practice concerning all aspects of visits in prisons. We work with imprisoned mothers and fathers on our Time to Connect Course.

A Time of Change Education in Prisons in England Under Review

In recent years education in prisons has been brought in line with mainstream education in the country; the outcomes and quality have not been sufficient.

Current Education Provision in Prisons: Initial educational assessments. Basic Literacy/Numeracy classes. Skills training such as painting and decorating and gardening. Distance learning for vocational and academic qualifications (grants for study are available). Information and Communication Technology.

Peer mentoring such as Toe by Toe (a scheme whereby prisoners help other prisoners learn to read). Creative and cultural based activities. Family learning and parenting courses available in some prisons. Physical education through gym activities. Library facilities. Preparation for work.

The vision for the Offender Learning and Skills Service (‘OLASS’): “That offenders, in prison and supervised in the community, according to need, should have access to learning and skills which enables them to gain the skills and qualifications they need to hold down a job and have a positive role in society”. (Skills Funding Agency)

Why the Need for Change? The cost of re-offending in was between £9.5 billion and £13 billion (Bromley Briefings 2010). Improving the skills of offenders and tackling unemployment is seen by the government as critical to reducing re-offending.

Key Themes: 1. Local influence on provision according to local employment needs. More engagement with local employers. 2. Quality - emphasis on high quality teaching staff and resources. 3. Development of a Virtual Campus available across the prison estate. Job search, CVs and skills information. 4. Partnership working with local agencies in the community so there is a more streamlined ‘ through the gate’ provision.

5. Vocational skills with literacy and numeracy embedded. 6. Early assessment of prisoners and better provision for meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities and difficulties. 7. Careers advice to be realistic and relevant and more intense before release. 8. Life skills - Prisons as places of work and industry instilling offenders in the disciplines of working life. 9. Informal adult and community learning, including the arts for long term prisoners and for those for whom work is unrealistic in the short term.

Delivery There are 10 delivery units across the country based on local prison clusters. New Providers have been through a procurement process and have been allocated delivery units. Outcomes and not just input. Payment by results.

Greater London 21 Sub-Contractors considered to deliver to prisons in Greater London but those same sub-contractors could also deliver to other regions in England and Wales. Sub-Contractors offer a variety of skills and education.

Examples of Sub-Contractors in Greater London Carillion Training Services; Construction. Carillion is the largest employer of apprentices in construction. Able to deliver outreach training to offenders in secure establishments and bespoke training courses at their training centres. All Carillion centres are fully equipped and staffed with experienced trainer/assessors; the centres are fully accredited to deliver level 1,2 and 3 QCF diplomas and level 1, 2 and 3 NVQ’s.

Clean Break; Specialising in theatre based education interventions with women offenders. Provides arts based education (theatre and writing) through residencies and workshops to women in prison and those leaving prison through the London based theatre, education and training programme.

Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College. The College states that is can offer a wide range of vocational qualifications (NVQ’s) and has considerable expertise in the delivery of ESOL English for Speakers in Foreign Language) and Skills for Life and programmes aimed at learners with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Conclusion

Any Questions?