Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Paragraph: 82
The current prison inspection regime does not give enough weight to the quality of education.
Conclusion
The current prison inspection regime does not give enough weight to the quality of education. The award of a single grade to the establishment makes it difficult to see the origin of the failure, therefore making it difficult to act to improve the situation.
Paragraph Reference:
82
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
We reject this recommendation. We agree that education provision and education inspection findings should be taken seriously and have an increased focus within the prison regime. We fully agree that Ofsted inspections should have impact and that prisons should demonstrate how they are responding to concerns raised at inspection. Education is an important function but not the sole function of prisons, and a prison’s overall performance needs to be considered in the round. Accordingly, Ofsted inspects in prisons as part of wider inspections by HMIP. We also believe that it is for the prison service and other agencies to take appropriate action to improve provision, based on inspection findings. This parallels the model for other education settings where Ofsted is the inspectorate, not the regulator. Where serious concerns about a prison are established, HMIP, as the lead inspectorate, can send an Urgent Notification letter to the Secretary of State so that appropriate action can be taken.