Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 34
34
Accepted in Part
Prison education participation rates remain low with widespread poor quality provision
Conclusion
It is unacceptable that 50 per cent of prisoners are not involved in prison education, training or work, despite the high level of need across the adult estate. Even for those who do access education, the quality remains poor, with 75 per cent of prisons inspected by Ofsted in 2024/25 rated ‘inadequate’ or ‘showing no improvement’. (Conclusion, Paragraph 145)
Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts the concerns, affirming education's importance and outlining steps to strengthen provision. These include maximising attendance, increasing purposeful activity through "Working Week prototypes," and introducing measures like new leadership roles and neurodiversity support managers to improve education quality, working with Ofsted on a new framework for June 2026.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
Partially Accept. Education is central to rehabilitation and reducing reoffending, and we are taking steps to strengthen provision across the estate. Future funding will depend on allocations decisions, and we will provide an update to the Committee next year once the financial position has been agreed. We are working with Governors to maximise attendance and classroom utilisation. We will increase our understanding of barriers to engagement, including the participation of remand prisoners. We are increasing the intensity of purposeful activity through initiatives such as the Working Week prototypes, currently running in five Category C prisons. This initiative aims to increase the time prisoners spend engaged in purposeful, work-based activity while strengthening links with community businesses to improve employment prospects on release. Significant measures have been introduced to improve the quality of education. Heads of Education, Skills and Work now provide leadership and accountability across prisons, and 117 Neurodiversity Support Managers are in post to improve support for prisoners with additional learning needs, with recruitment on going in other prisons to fill the remaining positions. Dedicated contract managers also conduct on-site assurance visits to ensure providers are meeting targets, and progress against Ofsted recommendations is closely monitored. We are working closely with Ofsted to ensure that the new Ofsted framework due to be published in June 2026 recognises the context of education, skills and work in prisons and HMPPS are funding some additional pilots of the new framework to ensure its fit for purpose. We are also developing digital tools to support the quality of delivery. The Learning and Work Progress Service tracks progress against prisoner learning plans to ensure better sequencing of education, skills, and work. This is complemented by new contracts for a nationally mandated Careers Information, Advice and Guidance service.