Prison Education

Education Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 19 Nov 2020 Closed: 20 Oct 2022 Parliament page
The inquiry is examining how current arrangements support learners in custody and how well prison education delivers the skills needed by employers. The inquiry is considering education for adults, young people and children in custody. It will look at what barriers exist, for instance, to delivering apprenticeships in a custodial … Read more
34 Recommendations
4 Conclusions
1 Report
7 Oral sessions
2 Letters
7 Events
Activity timeline 18 events
27 Sep
2022
Report published
18 May
2022
Report published
18 Jan
2022
Oral evidence
18 Jan
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
14 Dec
2021
Oral evidence
14 Dec
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
2 Nov
2021
Oral evidence
2 Nov
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
21 Sep
2021
Oral evidence
21 Sep
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
8 Jun
2021
Oral evidence
8 Jun
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting
Oral evidence sessions 7 sessions
18 Jan 2022
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Prison Education: Ministerial session
Alex Burghart MP · Department for Education Louise Wright · Department for Education Phil Copple · HMPPS Victoria Atkins · Ministry of Justice
14 Dec 2021
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Prison Education
Darren Burns · Timpson Sasha Simmonds · O’Neill & Brennan Ted Rosner · Redemption Roasters Tony Hughes · Williams Homes
2 Nov 2021
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Prison Education
Ben Leapman David Breakspear Femi Laryea-Adekimi Jonathan Gilbert Kiri Jolliffe
21 Sep 2021
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Prison Education - Ofsted panel; Prison Education - Educational providers
Andrea Greer · Weston College Matthew Coffey · Ofsted Paul Joyce · Ofsted Peter Cox · Novus Sally Alexander · Milton Keynes College Sophie Sterling · People Plus
8 Jun 2021
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Prison Education
Francesca Cooney, Prisoner Learning Alliance Michala Robertson, Open University Peter Dawson, Prison Reform Trust Stephen Johnson, Prison Governors Association
25 May 2021
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Prison Education
David Hughes · Association of Colleges Julian Smith · Bounce Back Lisa Capper MBE · NACRO Shereen Lawrence · St Giles Trust Simon Ashworth · Association of Employment and Learning Providers
20 Apr 2021
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Prison Education
Dame Sally Coates DBE Peter Stanford · Coates Review Rod Clark · Coates Review
Title HC No. Published Items Response
First report - Not just another brick in the wall: why prisoner… HC 56 18 May 2022 38 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
8 results
Clear
4 Recommendation Rejected
First report - Not just another b…
There must also be a clear signal in each prison that education is an operational...
There must also be a clear signal in each prison that education is an operational priority. We recommend that each prison has a Deputy Governor of Learning who is part of the Senior Management team, who is directly responsible for … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating that governors already have the necessary freedom to set local pay rates and they do not propose to set additional rules on pay which governors must follow.
Department for Education
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16 Recommendation Rejected
First report - Not just another b…
We also recommend that all prison Governors are given the appropriate training by the Ministry...
We also recommend that all prison Governors are given the appropriate training by the Ministry of Justice to acquire the skills to manage the contracts with their education providers more effectively. (Paragraph 72) 44 Not just another brick in the … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating that extending DPS contracts beyond two years would limit Governor flexibility and undermine the aim of widening education provision.
Department for Education
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17 Recommendation Rejected
First report - Not just another b…
The Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) was meant to allow Governors to contract bespoke training, including...
The Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) was meant to allow Governors to contract bespoke training, including with voluntary organisations, for their prisons. However, the current length of contracts is making it difficult for smaller organisations to bid. The length of DPS … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects this recommendation, stating that the overall responsibility for the quality and effectiveness of education sits with the governor. Inspections already include an assessment of how well the curriculum promotes personal development that includes engagement with civil society.
Department for Education
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19 Recommendation Rejected
First report - Not just another b…
The current prison inspection regime does not give enough weight to the quality of education.
The current prison inspection regime does not give enough weight to the quality of education. The award of a single grade to the establishment makes it difficult to see the origin of the failure, therefore making it difficult to act … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects this recommendation, stating that education is an important function but not the sole function of prisons, and a prison’s overall performance needs to be considered in the round.
Department for Education
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21 Recommendation Rejected
First report - Not just another b…
When considering moving prisoners, the position of where they are in a course or qualification...
When considering moving prisoners, the position of where they are in a course or qualification should be considered. The ability of whether they would be able to continue their qualification where they are moved to, should also be a factor.
Government Response
The government rejects this recommendation and states that they are working to ensure prisons have the digital infrastructure they need to provide prisoners with a strategic, managed in-cell laptop service. Rolling this equipment out across the whole prison service is subject to continued and long-term resourcing so at present they cannot set a timetable for deployment across the whole estate.
Department for Education
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24 Conclusion Rejected
First report - Not just another b…
Prison Education is in a perilous state due to a continual decline in funding.
Prison Education is in a perilous state due to a continual decline in funding. The Government has not increased funding for prison education for the last five years. The current prison regime contains many barriers to the successful delivery of … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating that the Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out their 10-year vision to deliver a transformed Prisoner Education Service with a focus on giving prisoners the skills and opportunities to secure a job on release, with an injection of £550m over the next three years.
Department for Education
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27 Recommendation Rejected
First report - Not just another b…
We recognise the reality of prison life and that prisoners may be transferred, often at...
We recognise the reality of prison life and that prisoners may be transferred, often at short notice. The Ministry of Justice must look at the ways that this can cause as little harm to their education as possible. We have … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to introduce modular courses, stating they want to prioritise initiatives that will make the greatest difference to rehabilitation and reducing reoffending - in particular, apprenticeships and skills bootcamps.
Department for Education
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35 Conclusion Rejected
First report - Not just another b…
Our inquiry has shone a light on the benefits of prisoners being able to take...
Our inquiry has shone a light on the benefits of prisoners being able to take apprenticeships. We are pleased that the Government has listened to the weight of evidence submitted to us on this issue, and will amend current Government … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation but plans to change the law later this year to enable serving prisoners to start apprenticeships and will continue to explore what more can be done to incentivise and reduce barriers to employers taking on prisoner and prison leavers.
Department for Education
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Government Response AI assessment · 38 of 34 classified
Accepted 19
Accepted in Part 7
Acknowledged 4
Rejected 8
Total 34 recs + 4 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
19 May 2021 To committee Letter from the Chair to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice, requesting prison education data for those in the adult estate, dated 18 May 2021
Parliament page
29 Apr 2021 To committee Letter from the Chair to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice, requesting youth custody and educational data, dated 29 April 2021
Parliament page