Principal findings
7. By way of introducing the context of this report,
we will outline the principle findings at this stage. The main
recommendations and conclusions are listed at the end of the report.
8. It is essential that we are clear about the purpose
of prison education. The purpose of prison education should be
understood as part of a wider approach to reduce recidivism through
the rehabilitation of prisoners. Although contributing to the
reduction of recidivism is of key importance, prison education
is about more than just this. It is important also because to
provide prison education is the right thing to do and this is
an important point to bear in mind when making policy decisions.
Education as part of a broader approach to rehabilitation must
consider the full range of needs of the prisoner and continue
to support the prisoner on release. Prison education does not
take place in isolation, and its purpose cannot be understood
in isolation from these wider issues.
9. The transfer of responsibility to the DfES in
2001 has not yet achieved a significant increase in the priority
given to prison education. The main finding of this Committee
is that progress in the provision of prison education and training
is being hampered by a lack of clarity of purpose in an over-arching
strategy. Despite the creation of the Offender Learning and Skills
Unit within the DfES, there is little sense of ownership of prison
education, no obvious high profile champion within the DfES, and
no drive or energy in moving things forward. The introduction
of the National Offender Management Service has added to the confusion
over responsibilities. In spite, or because of, all of these players,
there is no strategic direction and it is not clear where decisions
about policy are made. Prison education must rise up the Government's
agenda. Purpose and commitment must come from Government leadership.
10. Current uncertainty is mirrored at local level,
with the prison governor, the head of learning and skills, the
education manager and now the regional offender manager all having
a role in the management of prison education. Everyone agrees
that there needs to be an improvement in existing contract arrangements,
but recent reforms, including the cancellation of a new tendering
round, known as Project Rex, have caused a great deal of uncertainty
and instability for staff. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
were given responsibility for the funding, planning and delivery
of prison education in 2004 and will take on this responsibility
in full from 2006. The LSC have been running three prototypes
since January 2005, and new contract arrangements are to be rolled
out nationally in August 2006. This Committee has concerns over
the timetable of the national roll-out, the lack of clarity of
the criteria on which prototypes will be assessed, and more generally,
we have concerns about this being done in isolation of any overarching
strategy about what it is that prison education should be delivering.
11. Current provision is focused on the delivery
of basic skills and is driven by Key Performance Targets that
each prison has to meet in this area. It is widely accepted that
basic skills are not sufficient to enable a prisoner to improve
their employability in isolation of broader learning including
soft skills, and that such a concentrated focus has narrowed the
curriculum to the detriment of the learners. Existing Key Performance
Targets are driving provision in an unhelpful manner and need
to be re-considered, as does the very concentrated focus on basic
skills. More research is needed to find out what type of education
should be delivered in prisons and what works in terms of enabling
prisoners to enter secure employment on release.
12. There needs to be a much better integration of
education, vocational training, and work regimes in prisons and
a significant step change in the level of provision of high quality
vocational and work-based education. Schemes such as the Young
Offender Programme, led by National Grid Transco, that now involves
over 50 employers and trains prisoners for real jobs to meet a
genuine skills gap, must be the way forward for vocational training
in prisons. Real pay for real work should be given further consideration
and, at the very least, the pay that prisoners receive for education
should be equal to any other activity undertaken. Entrepreneurial
activity that has achieved links with local businesses as well
as local Further Education Colleges and Universities only exists
in pockets of excellence at present and should be far more widespread.
13. There needs to be an overarching strategy for
prison education that recognises that there have to be different
models of delivery in different prisons. The majority of prisoners
are short-term prisoners passing through local prisons. For these
prisoners there should be a service which focuses on properly
assessing the needs and aspirations of the individual and providing
information advice and guidance that concentrates on linking them
with learning and skills provision in the local community and
ensuring that they have access to this provision after release.
A successful system for the electronic transfer of records is
needed as a matter of priority for this to be possible. The provision
for longer term prisoners should be different with appropriate
education and training available in prisons.
14. We welcome the recognition by Government that
improvements are needed. This aspiration needs to be matched by
a coherent approach. The real key to success is not to create
a parallel structure for prison education at national or regional
level, but rather to make sure that prisoners have access to the
facilities which already exist locally. A new approach is required
regarding the delivery of prisoners' Individual Learning Plans
as part of their sentence plans. Implementation so far has been
shambolic. Individual Learning Plans need proper implementation
with a thorough and robust assessment of needs (including special
educational needs), linked to entitlement, and a much greater
focus on the continuation of provision on release through mainstream
services.
15. Finally, there are a number of considerable barriers
across the wider prison regime that are adding to the difficulty
of successfully delivering prison education, including overcrowding
and constant movement of prisoners between prisons, described
colloquially as 'churn'. The sentencing of short-term prisoners
needs radical re-thinking. It is very difficult to achieve improvements
in prison education without changes in the wider prison regime.
Changes will have to be driven from the top down, and without
a strong commitment to reduce overcrowding and 'churn', these
barriers will continue to prevent the effective delivery of prison
education.
16. We must keep in mind the fact that a prison is
a prison and not a secure learning centre. Nevertheless, the Government
should be aiming to develop a culture in prisons in which education
is a priority. This cannot be achieved without a significant shift
in the investment in training given to Prison Officers. At just
8 weeks, the initial training period for Prison Officers is too
short and we invite the Home Office to review this. A much greater
level of investment in staff education and development is required
in order to encourage a more positive attitude amongst Prison
Officers towards the role that education has to play in prisons.
