How we manage offenders

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Education, training and employment

Lack of employment is one of the major factors associated with re-offending.

There is a strong correlation between offending, poor literacy, language and numeracy skills, and low achievement and truancy at school. Many offenders have very poor experience of education and no experience of stable employment.

How we aim to address offenders' education, training and employment needs:

• develop a learning and skills service as an integral part of the offender management process, to provide offenders with skills for life and improves their employability
• use sentences to improve employment opportunities – eg, arrange Freshstart interviews and job searches, and set Education, Training and Employment Activity Requirements as part of the new sentencing framework
• develop strategies nationally, regionally and locally for engaging employers in providing jobs for ex-offenders
• put employability and employment at the heart of supervision in the community for every unemployed offender.

Developing a learning and skills service

A great deal has already been achieved towards the vision of providing a learning and skills service that meets the needs of offenders.

The Offenders’ Learning and Skills Unit (OLSU), supported by both NOMS and the Department for Education and Skills, has been leading the reform of the learning and skills service for offenders. A new service providing opportunities that are consistent with those on offer more widely in the community, and planned and funded through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is being established.

Early achievements

• OLSU was set up in 2001 and since April 2002 has helped offenders in custody achieve 150,000 basic skills qualifications.
• Last year the National Probation Service, in partnership with the LSC, supported offenders in the community achieve just under 9500 qualifications.

All this has been supported by a big increase in the funding available since 2003. 

Improving the quality of education and training

Much has been done to improve the quality of what is delivered to offenders as well as the quality. Prison learning and skills is now inspected externally on the same basis as mainstream providers, and there is a programme of support for those prisons who fail to meet the appropriate standards. This is further supported by the creation of senior Heads of Learning and Skills posts in prisons. Adult Learning Inspectorate reports indicate an improvement in the quality of the service provided, though starting from a low base.

This is a solid basis from which to develop the new offender learning and skills service planned and funded by the Learning and Skills Council.

Early assesment of learner needs

The key aspect of the new service is an early, intense focus on assessing the offender learner’s needs, setting these out in an individual learning plan and, bolstered by information, advice and guidance arrangements, working to ensure those needs are delivered in a joined-up way as the offender progresses through the Criminal Justice System.

This approach is being tested in three development regions (North East, North West and South West) and is providing far better data on participation and achievement categorised by age, gender, ethnicity and disability.

A formal Commissioning and Performance Management Agreement will reflect the new partnership between the LSC, NOMS and Prison and Probation Services.