Abstract
Although the direct links between education and reducing recidivism in prisoners are problematic, there is little argument that education is a factor in promoting reintegration and rehabilitation. There is a current focus in prison education on education for employment, and yet there are no recent or unambiguous data about the skills levels of the prison population. The most often quoted figures are both 15 years out of date and deeply flawed in terms of their comparisons with the general population. This article sets out a new study that takes the mandatory initial assessments carried out on every new prisoner between August 2014 and July 2015 and compares them with the national Skills for Life survey conducted in 2011. This provides us with some hard facts about the English and maths skills of the past year's intake of prisoners. The conclusions argue that while the numeracy skills of prisoners are better than previously understood, the cohort has extremely poor literacy skills, and addressing these needs should be a priority for government.
Highlights
The Centre for Education in the Criminal Justice System (CECJS) recognise that in order to design a coherent education system, it is necessary to have an informed understanding of the current educational levels of the cohort
The details of the mandatory assessments’ (MAs) will be added to the Individual Learning Record (ILR) database
There is some disparity when we look at the numeracy assessments, with PeoplePlus’s Level 1 (L1) being markedly lower than other providers, while their Entry level 3 (EL3) is that much higher
Summary
The Centre for Education in the Criminal Justice System (CECJS) recognise that in order to design a coherent education system, it is necessary to have an informed understanding of the current educational levels of the cohort. Our overall aim is to set up a project to systematically collect data both nationally and at prison level and analyse it to gain an understanding of how the education levels of the prisoner cohort differs according to age, gender and prisoner category. This initial report is the start of that process and provides the first analysis of the mandatory assessment data collected by the education providers between August 2014 and July 2015.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
