In March 2022, Ofsted and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) published a joint review of reading education in prisons, which highlighted the barriers preventing prisoners from receiving the support they need and made several recommendations that were accepted by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and prison governors.
Today, a follow-up report to last year’s review finds that, while some progress has been made in meeting those recommendations, improvements in key areas such as screening, assessment, resourcing and strategy development have been too slow.
The report acknowledges that the prison system is still facing challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including staffing problems, which have contributed to the delays in making necessary improvements in prison reading education.
Ofsted and HMIP have issued additional recommendations for prison leaders and management, including fast-tracking the implementation and use of the new HMPPS reading tool and providing urgent support for ESOL learners.
