2 Getting offenders to start and
complete the right courses
9. The Offenders' Learning and Skills Unit in
the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, describes
the model learning and skills experience that it expects offenders
to receive from OLASS in terms of an 'Offender Learning Journey'.
Informed by an objective assessment of learning needs, and with
appropriate information and support, offenders who participate
are expected to be able to follow a personal learning plan which
acts as a record of progress towards their learning and skills
goals. Offenders should participate in relevant learning and skills,
which satisfy the objectives set out on their Individual Learning
Plan.[11]
10. The National Audit Office's examination of
a sample of prisoners' learning records found that there was no
record of assessment for a quarter of prisoners, and these prisoners
may be missing out on the learning and skills opportunities that
would be most likely to address their risk of re-offending. Some
offenders who have already been assessed during previous sentences
will be resistant to being assessed again, but the Prison Service
believes the rate of assessment could be increased, even if there
are obstacles, such as mental health disorders, problems with
alcohol or drug use and short sentence durations.[12]
11. A key aim of the new Service is that, following
assessment, providers will work with offenders to draw up individual
learning plans. Individual learning plans should set out learning
goals over a specified period of time, the milestones for achievement
of goals and the outcomes of regular progress reviews. In practice,
the quality of learning plans is poor. One third of those reviewed
by the National Audit Office did not specify what courses individual
prisoners would need in order to address their skills deficiencies
and less than half recorded progress. In the first year of operating
OLASS, the LSC did not have a consistent approach towards the
completion of learning plans, setting out who should be responsible
for drawing them up or specifying what information they should
contain. The LSC acknowledges the urgent need to give providers
guidance on improving individual learning plans. [13]
12. Of those assessed as having very low levels
of basic skills, only about one in five had enrolled on a course
that would help them improve their literacy or numeracy skills
(Figure 3). Getting this "hard to reach" group
to volunteer for assessment and courses may be particularly difficult
because these prisoners often have a history of not attending
school regularly, and some may have been excluded permanently
from school. For some prisoners, for example, those with serious
mental health difficulties or drug problems, participating in
learning will not be practical. HM Prison Service has concentrated
its efforts on enrolling prisoners who are keen to volunteer and
will be compliant in classes.[14]
13. Although participation in learning is voluntary,
there are ways of motivating prisoners to join classes and attend
regularly. The chance to earn privileges such as telephone calls
and visits from friends and relatives is one way of encouraging
participation. Prison and probation officers could do more to
motivate offenders to take up opportunities. Outside OLASS, HM
Prison Service operates peer mentoring schemes to improve the
basic skills of prisoners who may be reluctant to engage in formal
education, and this is a further useful model to follow. There
are also opportunities for embedding learning through prison activities
such as prison work, which can help to raise skill levels for
prisoners who are not working towards qualifications.[15]Figure
3: The proportion of prisoners assessed as having low levels of
basic skills who had started a course
Note: 'Level 1' is
equivalent to the standard expected of an 11 year old, and 'Level
2' equivalent to a GCSE grade A*-C. 'Entry levels 1-3' are broadly
equivalent to the attainment levels of 5, 7 and 9 year olds respectively.
'Below entry' is pre-primary school.
Source: C&AG's Report, Figure 13
14. Once offenders have enrolled on courses,
their learning is often disrupted when they are transferred between
prisons. This is because the courses on offer at different establishments
are different. The LSC intends to bring about greater consistency
in the core subjects on offer at different prisons, which should
make it easier for prisoners to continue learning after being
moved. Trials are currently underway in clusters of prisons in
some regions to develop a core curriculum.[16]
15. Failing to transfer offenders' learning records
can also disrupt learning when offenders move between prisons,
or from prison into supervision in the community. Two years ago,
this Committee recommended that all records should be transferred
when a prisoner is moved.[17]
Despite this, offenders' learning records are still not being
transferred routinely when offenders move, leading in many cases
to offenders undergoing new assessments, which are both unnecessary
and may not record earlier progress. The LSC has put interim systems
in place to assist with the transfer of learning records held
by providers, along with HM Prison Service prisoner files, but
it recognises that there are weaknesses with them. The LSC now
plans to trial a new system in two regions in September 2008,
and roll it out across England by August 2009.[18]
11 C&AG's Report, para 3.1 Back
12
Qq 23-24; C&AG's Report, para 3.4 Back
13
Qq 8, 11; C&AG's Report, para 3.8-3.9 Back
14
Qq 6, 23-24, 58-60; C&AG's Report, para 3.15 Back
15
Qq 7, 29-30, 47-48 Back
16
Q 12 Back
17
Committee of Public Accounts, Forty-fourth Report, Session 2005-06,
National Offender Management Service: Dealing with increased
number in custody, HC 788 Back
18
Qq 5, 25-28; C&AG's Report, paras 3.27-3.29 Back
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