PRISONER LEARNING ALLIANCE (PLA) – WRITTEN EVIDENCE (YUN0014)

Youth Unemployment Committee inquiry

The Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA)[1] very much welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation. The PLA is a network of organisations and individuals with an interest and expertise in prison education. We use our collective voice to advocate for improvements and we hold the government to account by monitoring prison education. We have over 200 members, across the sector including education providers, professional bodies and voluntary sector organisations. The Prisoners’ Education Trust provides our secretariat. While we have sought members’ views on this submission and gathered information through ongoing engagement, this submission does not necessarily represent the views of any individual or organisational member of the PLA. We have responded to questions within our remit only.

The PLA is responding to the inquiry because the over-representation of young adults in the criminal justice system, and the poor outcomes for this group both in custody and on release, are of significant concern to us. While representing less than 10% of the general population, 18-24 year-olds make up 30-40% of the criminal justice caseload, and 16% of the prison population. This group also has the highest reoffending rates, with 75% of young adults reoffending within two years of release.

Young adult’s’ life chances are significantly impacted by a prison sentence and not enough is done to mitigate this for prison leavers. The Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) focus on employability does not always include enough attention and resources on education, which is inextricably related to employment outcomes and should be linked strategically. There are a number of excellent initiatives supporting former prisoners into work. However, the need is immense and the latest figures (unfortunately not disaggregated by age) show that only 10% of men leaving prison had a job six weeks later – and for women, the figure is 4%.

Our submission covers the following areas:
 

• Education in prisons during the Covid-19 lockdown
• Challenges for young people leaving prison and seeking employment – specific needs, digital technology and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
• Curriculum and access
• Funding for prison education
• Careers advice in prisons
• University, further education and business support
• Apprenticeships and release on temporary licence

Background - education in prisons during Covid-19

The Covid-19 Crisis has further compounded the challenges prison education faces. Adult prisoners have not received face-to-face or classroom-based teaching for a year. Many prisons are now delivering limited small group or one-to-one sessions, but this provision is not universal. For the last year, most prisoners have been held in what amounts to solitary confinement and the lack of ICT and any kind of internet access has put prisoners at greater disadvantage than any other educational sector. Given the evidence of the impact education has on future life chances after release, on employment and on reoffending, delays in restoring educational opportunities to even pre-lockdown levels are vastly damaging. Schools, further education colleges and universities are all able to offer socially distanced and blended learning. Prison education, serving as it does some of the most marginalised and disadvantaged in society, is at the back of this queue.

This has particularly affected prisoners learning English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) whose language difficulties can create barriers to employment and who benefit significantly from tailored ESOL tuition and peer support.[2]

COVID lockdown has brought about huge changes in the labour market with young people and BAME people being dramatically affected.  The number of entry-level jobs many young people would have accessed is hugely reduced and there is huge competition for the remaining jobs from qualified and experienced candidates.

1) What are the main challenges facing young people seeking employment today? How do structural factors impact youth unemployment, and how might these be addressed?

There is a huge body of evidence that supports the view that young adults in prison have distinct needs and a specific approach is required if young adults are going to have the right opportunities while in prison and have successful lives on release. Neuroscientific and psychological research demonstrates that emotional and social maturation processes continue well beyond the age of 18, and at least until the age of 25.[3] Based on this knowledge, the Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance[4] has developed an expansive evidence base pointing clearly towards the need for a distinct approach to young adults in the criminal justice system (CJS).[5] In addition, the Justice Select Committee has published two reports in the last five years on the treatment of young adults in the CJS, both of which have criticised the MoJ for its failure to adequately address the needs of young adults as a distinct group.

The lack of consistent high-quality education provision for young people in prison hinders them in seeking employment. Education classes can be 3-3.5 hours long, which is inappropriate for young adults – and indeed most older adults. Young adults take a variable amount of time to develop their maturity and the challenges for Governors and prison educators of supporting learners of widely varying ages are numerous. More flexibility, variety and shorter classes is needed. Education in prison can be very ‘flat’ and young adults require a more dynamic, punchy delivery with appropriate teaching methods and provision.

Children and young adults from racially minoritised backgrounds, who are overrepresented in prisons, face pervasive educational and employment inequalities within wider society. Gypsy/Roma, Irish Traveller, Black Caribbean and mixed White/Black Caribbean young people have the highest rates of permanent school exclusions per 10,000 pupils (36, 29, 28 and 27, respectively).[6] While 82.2% of white students in England are awarded a 2.1 or above in their higher education degrees, only 60.1% of Black students are, resulting in a 22.1% awarding gap between Black and white students.[7] Among young people aged 16-24, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, mixed heritage as well as Black young people have the highest rates of unemployment; the figures are particularly high for young men.[8] Although there is currently no data on the numbers of young people who speak English as an Additional Language (EAL) who are not in education, training, or employment, there will be a number of young people in these statistics who experience language barriers to employment.

The Covid-19 crisis has posed acute problems for everyone living and working in prisons –and the digital divide between prisoners and the rest of the community has never been starker. Even before this crisis the PLA’s priority, supported across our membership, was for better access to digital learning. Our recent briefing, the Digital Divide[9], shows examples from other countries that work. We believe that the Prison Service should develop and implement a national strategy to ensure that there is a single consistent secure digital infrastructure. Where possible, the education platform should support wider functionality, linked to the prison intranet, so that prisoners can access information on their prison account. We also recommend that In-cell devices become the norm and an automatic entitlement, removed only in exceptional circumstances. While digital literacy has now acquired the same status as literacy and numeracy in community education, the digital revolution has largely passed prisons by. Prison education departments will struggle to provide the teaching and qualifications needed without further investment in technology, tutor support and training and a reduction in the current restrictions on internet and intranet access.

Another structural challenge is the way that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) operates. This Act was passed in 1974 when sentence lengths were shorter, and the sentencing framework was very different. Our rehabilitative periods remain some of the most punitive worldwide, and lengthy or indefinite disclosure periods prevent people moving forward. There have been a few welcome changes and amendments to this Act, but these are piecemeal, and it is well overdue a whole-scale reform. There is evidence[10] that over a 5-year period, over 1 million criminal records for offences from 30+ years ago, when the person involved was aged between 10-25, were disclosed on standard or enhanced checks.

4) Is funding for education, training and skills enough to meet the needs of young people and of the labour market? How can we ensure it continues to reach those who need it most?

Prison education is the poor relation in adult education, which has itself been drastically cut over the past decade. Prison education funding has stayed at the same level for the last five years (approx. £129 million), and is guaranteed for the current contract, 2019–2023. Funding was allocated to the Department for Education as ring-fenced provision by the Treasury in the Spending Review of 2015, and was transferred to the MOJ via machinery–of– government changes in 2016–17. The Treasury had asked the MOJ to review spending on education services at the end of 2019–20, following an assessment of the new contracts but we believe that this was derailed by the General Election and then by Covid-19. While recent government announcements have committed to additional funding for further education, training and apprenticeships, in the wake of supporting the economy post lockdown, prison education has not been included in this.

Prisons have to compete with community/FE colleges for high quality staff to teach vocational subjects. High quality vocational teaching is currently a challenge across the whole of further education as using (rather than teaching) a trade attracts a higher salary. Providers are sometimes reluctant to change courses because of difficulties recruiting teachers/instructors and an unwillingness to create redundancies.

5) Does the national curriculum equip young people with the right knowledge and skills to find secure jobs and careers? What changes may be needed to ensure this is the case in future?

Prison education for children is aligned with the national curriculum so core standard subjects are taught but there is no published data on progression and qualifications.  Frequent disruptions and challenges, including separation of children, mean most children in prison receive far fewer hours than the mandated 15 per week entitlement. There is insufficient outreach provision, where children could be taught in small groups or individually. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) reported that less than half (49%) of children reported that they had learned something that would help them on release.[11] They also found that far too few children had access to education or training on release.

In a recent Leaders Unlocked research report[12], based on interviews with young adults with experience of the criminal justice system, participants reported feeling that the courses offered in prison did not provide them with the tools they needed to achieve future employment goals. For instance, many expressed interests in the creative and technology industries, but felt these were poorly catered for. As one participant commented: 'There are some computer courses but there should be more advanced courses'.[13] This points to the importance of providing education programmes at a variety of levels which meet the needs of all learners. No potential learner should be left feeling that the education department has nothing meaningful to offer them.

HMIP have also noted that at Hydebank Wood Secure College, in Northern Ireland, there is specific, properly resourced, young adult provision and that perceptions of and outcomes for young adults improve[14]. In contrast, in England and Wales, most young adults did not receive any specific provision and instead of being motivated to attend education and training, too many disengaged with provision designed for older prisoners and spent long periods of time locked in their cells. In adult prisons, the curriculum is very narrow with few subjects other than functional and vocational skills and few courses above level 2.

There are some good examples of prisons and education providers providing vocational training linked to labour market gaps. However, too much vocational education and training in prisons is undertaken without an understanding of the potential impact on future employment. There are currently very few industry standard vocational qualifications at NVQ Level 3 offered and while the new contracting arrangements give prison governors the discretion to commission this, few have taken the opportunity. Vocational education should include the delivery of core employment skills as part of preparation for release, including training on disclosing convictions and embedded ESOL learning where needed. It should, we believe, also include employer engagement and a brokerage function and employ prison leavers. Training and transferable work skills need to be better embedded into prison industry.

A ‘Kickstart’ [15]scheme for young prison leavers, with additional support, would be one way of addressing the situation.  Also, currently, Work Coaches in Jobcentre Plus teams have huge caseloads and do not have the dedicated time the young people need to secure a training place or work.  The Youth Hubs being set up could be a route through which funded additional support is delivered.

6) Is careers education preparing young people with the knowledge to explore the range of opportunities available?

Prison Governors commission IAG (Information Advice and Guidance) services which ‘consider the particular needs of their cohorts’.[16] Young adults are at a crucial stage in their life development, where tailored, supportive and knowledgeable age- and context-relevant guidance is crucial. This is recognised, for instance, in universities, where students can access support and guidance via several avenues, including through personal tutoring, careers advice services, wellbeing services and student union advocacy and advice services. Young adults in prisons should be able to access similarly tailored and supportive guidance, in order to support their development and maximise their potential through education opportunities and future employment. The PLA would recommend that careers advice is provided by an independent organisation who are not providing other education/training delivery in the prison. We also note that the Business and Education Survey[17] from the British Chamber of Commerce found that firms think that careers advice should include workplace experiences (64%), encounters with employers and employees (62%), and link curriculum learning to careers (45%).

9)  What is the role of business and universities in creating a thriving jobs market for young people? How should they be involved in developing skills and training programmes at further and higher education level?

There are good links between many prisons and universities[18], as (pre-lockdown) around fifty prison-university partnerships were in place. These can engage learners in university level learning and create aspiration and pathways between prisons and higher education. The situation with further education and training colleges is very different. Our research[19] found that, with some notable exceptions, links between further education colleges and prisons remained poor. This is a massive missed opportunity because this sector is likely to offer the educational and vocational opportunities that prison leavers need. Young people with recent convictions also find it difficult to access FE colleges and courses, and having a supportive stream via a single point of access at local colleges could help join up links to training on release.

The New Futures Network (NFN), who broker links between employers and prisons, is a welcome initiative, and there are good examples of employers with positive recruitment practices for former prisoners (e.g. Timpson, Railtrack). However, the approach is too piecemeal, the infrastructure in prison does not support employers hosting workshops and government incentives and support for employers, (such as the cut to National Insurance contributions to incentivise employers to employ veterans) should also be considered. There is, as yet, no published data on NFN outcomes.

10) What can be done to ensure that enough apprenticeship and traineeship placements are available for young people? Is the apprenticeship levy the right way to achieve a continuing supply of opportunities?

The MoJ’s 2018 Education and Employment Strategy set out the Prisoner Apprenticeship Pathway as a vocational route to gaining qualifications and work experience, part of the government’s aim to create three million apprenticeships by 2020. So far, however, little progress has been made in implementing the pathway across the prison estate.[20] The pathway is meant to provide an alternative route for prisoners to gain qualifications and work experience, with necessary training while in prison and a 12-month apprenticeship on release guaranteeing a job and income. In theory, prison governors have the necessary autonomy to commission and set up apprenticeship pathways which are tailored to relevant sectors and industries. However, there are no allocated resources or expert input to encourage or support this to happen.

An independent report[21] from the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has called for a cross-departmental approach, criticising the lack of operational detail and clarity around funding and how agencies will support apprentices. The importance of apprenticeships has only increased in the context of the Covid-19 lockdown and its likely effect on the economy. We note that in June 2020, the Prime Minister promised guaranteed apprenticeships for young people as lockdown ends and we hope this will include opportunities for young adults leaving prison. We also note that the AELP has recommended that employers should have the option to use unspent apprenticeship levy funds to finance apprenticeship training for people in prison.

Release on temporary licence (ROTL), when a security cleared prisoner can access day release for the purposes of work or education, is hugely underutilised. There is no central strategy to increase day release for prisoner workers or students. There are no centrally collated figures of prisoners who regularly access college or university in the community for courses or training. ROTL could also be used as a key part of the apprenticeship pathway so that apprentices are able to become familiar with and start working at their placement before they are released from prison.

In conclusion, the PLA are calling for the following to support life chances and employment opportunities for young adults in prison and on release:

• District flexible provision for young adults involved in prison education, with a more varied curriculum
• Adequate funding for prison education, including for digital technology and careers advice
• A national strategy to develop links between prisons and HE/FE institutions
• Trainees and apprenticeship schemes for young people, aligned with provision in the community and good referral routes to placements

A strategy to engage employers and businesses with prisons, that includes increased use of ROTL and reform of the ROA.

10th May 2021