Almost two thirds of prison inspections show poor quality management of the quality of education, skills and work, and the number ranked 'good' or 'outstanding' has fallen dramatically in the past year. At the same time, the number of prisoners participating in education qualifications has plummeted. In the year 2017/18, the number of prisoners participating in a course equivalent to AS-levels or above showed a 90% decrease compared to the 2010/11 academic year.
In a new report, the House of Commons Education Select Committee highlights the cracks in a clunky, chaotic, disjointed system which does not value education as the key to rehabilitation. This is, say MPs, despite clear data showing that prisoners who participate in education whilst incarcerated are 7.5 percentage points less likely to reoffend than those who don't.
