Select Committee on Education and Skills Minutes of Evidence


Memorandum submitted by learndirect

BACKGROUND

  The draw of modern technology, in the form of learndirect, will give prisoners the opportunity to achieve a qualification and improve their employability through secure on-line learning.—David Blunkett at HMP Leeds, August 2001

  A learndirect project was launched in August 2001 by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Prisoner Learning and Skills Unit (now the Offender Learning and Skills Unit or OLSU) to investigate the value of using learndirect to prepare prisoners for the world of work.

  The original project involved supporting learndirect provision in five prisons, three of which were adult male and two Young Offenders' Institutes (YOIs). The pilot engaged around one thousand learners over a six month period, the biggest impact coming where prison officers were also engaged with learndirect. Since then, learndirect has been rolled out to fifteen prisons (see Appendix 1). There are plans to roll out to a further five prisons (see Appendix 2), bringing the total to twenty. These prisons include YOIs and women's prisons as well as those from the original pilot. The learndirect course offer available in this extended roll out is of a better quality and also a more diverse portfolio than previously. It is too early to give any figures for engagement, but we expect a similar level of involvement as in the original pilot.

  The most significant impact of learndirect in prisons has been in widening participation in learning among the prison community, through its ability to attract into learning those who would not otherwise have engaged in formal education activities. Most commonly this group would have low levels of educational attainment, including poor basic skills, and lack the confidence and self esteem to take up learning. For some prisoners, learndirect was their first experience of learning since leaving school.

  A wide range of benefits have been observed:

    (a)  Improved motivation to learn amongst prisoners using learndirect.

    (b)  Access to educational facilities outside of the traditional education provision available within the prison.

    (c)  Improvements in prisoners' self confidence and self esteem, often a precondition of success in learning.

    (d)  Improved relationships between prisoners and between prisoners and prison officers.

    (e)  Access to the national tests in maths and English in online format.

  Appendix three gives examples of work carried out by learndirect in prisons and with the Probation Service.

NEXT STEPS

  learndirect is involved in the new national prison "development regions" launched this autumn, which will pilot new education delivery and funding models in three regions. The regions are the North West, the South West and the North East. Each learndirect region is engaging with the regional Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to agree the extent of learndirect's involvement. Following evaluation of these projects, the Home Office with the OLSU and the LSC, plan to roll out new models for the delivery of education, from September 2005.

  OLSU is currently developing a new Information Technology and learning strategy, on which learndirect intends to comment.

  learndirect have recently been notified of its success in a European Social Fund bid to increase the employability of offenders serving a sentence of less than two years. learndirect will be working predominantly in the North East, South West, London and the East regions. The aim is not only to engage prisoners with learndirect whilst serving their sentence and progress them to the Level 2 employability benchmark, but also, through the use of mentors, to provide opportunities for the offender to continue to engage with learning at the end of their sentence.

LEARNDIRECT IN THE PROBATION SERVICE

  It is relevant to explain what involvement learndirect has with the Probation Service because of the Government's plans to unite the two services. There are currently around 200,000 offenders per annum, 50% of whom have a basic skills requirement. Approximately half of these number are at pre-entry level. The majority of offenders are males between 18 and 21 years of age. Significant additional money has been made available through the LSC to increase the number of offenders receiving training. Tenders for utilising these funds are currently with regional LSCs and there is an excellent opportunity for learndirect to become embedded in solutions utilising this new funding pot. In preparation for learndirect engaging formally through this route, and in order to contribute towards the Probation Service's targets for Basic Skills course uptakes and Certificates in Adult Literacy and Numeracy, learndirect ran a pilot project (4 January-31 March 2004) to assess the feasibility of delivering an appropriate portfolio of learndirect courses within the Probation Service.

  The probation pilot project operated in four areas: Telford, Shrewsbury, Wales and Leeds and was very successful. For example, in Leeds the pilot was in a probation hostel which enabled residents to access dedicated learndirect provision one day a week. The main focus of this learning was Skills for Life although many learners progressed to IT and Business and Management courses once they had the necessary literacy and numeracy skills. The hostel delivery has been carried out by the A4e Leeds learndirect Centre. The advantages of working with this provider have been their past experience of working with this client group and the benefits of linking their hostel based learndirect delivery into Jobcentre Plus provision. This has enabled residents to progress onto programmes which offer them work experience opportunities. The success of this pilot has led to learndirect working with West Yorkshire Probation service to roll-out delivery to three other hostels in the area.

  Additionally, when opening new premises at a pilot project in Shrewsbury in March 2004, Martin Neary, Director General of National Offender Management Service (NOMS), commended the Chief Officer of West Mercia Probation Areas for the excellent work being undertaken with learndirect and suggested that the model should be replicated nationally.

  learndirect is now working with local probation service offices in all nine English regions. Different delivery models have been adopted to suit the client and probation service. For instance learndirect is now trying to replicate good practice in South Yorkshire, with the Probation Service encouraging one of their existing providers (SOVA) to become a learndirect provider. Delivery will start in this hostel in January, and the newly refurbished learndirect room will also cater for offenders on Community Punishment orders who wish to spend time learning at weekends.

  Success stories come from those who feel their confidence, and opportunities open to them, have improved; from those who achieved a Level 1 and/or 2 in the Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy; and from individuals who have found employment as a result of learndirect.

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

  learndirect, like many organisations involved with offenders, believe that wherever they serve their sentence, offenders should have access to innovative learning such as that delivered by learndirect through e-learning, within the constraints of the protection of the public. Effective use of information technology should be made to allow the transfer of prisoner education records from prison to prison, and a secure link to a probation education network, so that offenders leaving prison can continue with their learning in the context of their rehabilitation orders.

APPENDIX 1

PRISONS WITH LEARNDIRECT SYSTEM INSTALLED
Prison
HMP Brockhill
HMYOI Bullwood Hall
HMYOI Feltham
HMP Hollesley Bay
HMP Holloway
HMYOI Huntercombe
HMP Leeds
HMP New Hall
HMYOI Onley
HMP The Mount
HMP Warren Hill
HMYOI Wetherby
HMPYOI Hindley
HMYOI Stoke Heath
HMYOI Werrington


APPENDIX 2

PRISONS AWAITING INSTALLATION

HMYOI Castington

HMP Eastwood Park

HMP Lancaster Farms

HMYOI Thorn Cross

HMP Wellingborough

November 2004





 
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