Education is central to prisoner rehabilitation, but take-up of it has been in decline and is still not back at even pre-pandemic levels. This paper discusses the current state of education in prisons, and why it is failing to deliver on its aims of supporting employment and reducing reoffending.
Education is a key rehabilitation strategy, but it is not going well.
- Education is central to prisoner rehabilitation. It reduces reoffending in and of itself, and helps to secure employment after release.
- Education take-up, however, has been in decline and is still not back at even pre-pandemic levels.
- The quality of prison education has also experienced a decline. In 2023, 73% of prisons were rated as “requires improvement” or “inadequate” for their education and skills provision, up from 50% in 2019.
The issue is that education is not truly valued by prison governors or by government.
