The escape of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth shows the urgent need for prison education, the head of Ofsted has said.
Prisons ranked worst among the institutions inspected by Ofsted with many rated inadequate in the past few years and most inmates having poor levels of education.
Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector, said schools that are excluding pupils should not be accused of turning them into offenders as problem behaviour often triggers suspensions, rather than the other way around.
She also said that the escape from Wandsworth in London earlier this month highlighted how the prison staffing crisis affected the quality and extent of education provided, leading to a vicious circle of worse behaviour, a negative culture among inmates and more staff problems.
