Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Prison education: a review of reading in prisons published by Ofsted on 22 March 2022, whether assessments have been (a) developed and (b) implemented to identify prisoners' learning needs.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We have made clear that improving prisoners’ literacy and numeracy skills will increase their ability to get jobs when they are released, which, in turn, will cut crime and make our streets safer.
Since the review conducted by OFSTED and HMI Prisons in 2022, we have piloted and launched a reading assessment tool and developed a national reading strategy which is available in all prisons. We have also supported staff delivering this vital work by developing curriculum plans that meet the needs of learners. Teaching staff now have access to appropriate Continuous Professional Development (CPD) around teaching reading, and libraries have resources to allow reading for pleasure. We have also provided training to governing governors on OFSTED expectations to ensure the appropriate literacy curriculum is in place.
In addition, we have expanded the provision of the Shannon Trust who are involved in teaching and supporting prisoners to read, ensuring reading is a part of the regular needs assessment.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to improve the training and professional development of prison teaching staff to ensure that those staff can teach adults to read.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We have made clear that improving prisoners’ literacy and numeracy skills will increase their ability to get jobs when they are released, which, in turn, will cut crime and make our streets safer.
Since the review conducted by OFSTED and HMI Prisons in 2022, we have piloted and launched a reading assessment tool and developed a national reading strategy which is available in all prisons. We have also supported staff delivering this vital work by developing curriculum plans that meet the needs of learners. Teaching staff now have access to appropriate Continuous Professional Development (CPD) around teaching reading, and libraries have resources to allow reading for pleasure. We have also provided training to governing governors on OFSTED expectations to ensure the appropriate literacy curriculum is in place.
In addition, we have expanded the provision of the Shannon Trust who are involved in teaching and supporting prisoners to read, ensuring reading is a part of the regular needs assessment.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many neurodiversity support managers have been recruited in each prison in the past 12 months.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
A Neurodiversity Support Manager role is being recruited in each prison across England and Wales to implement a whole prison approach to supporting neurodivergent needs with improved processes to identify and support prisoners' needs. In the 12-month period to 26 June 2023, HMPPS have recruited 91 Neurodiversity Support Managers. Of these, 78 are in post with the remainder completing recruitment and vetting.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to evaluate the effectiveness of rapid learning difficulties and disabilities assessment and support plan systems in prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
There are ongoing evaluations of the assessment tools with work being undertaken to look at the most effective way to assess Learning difficulties and disabilities. In March 2025 a new Prison Education Service (PES) will be launched and this will inform the assessment model post 2025.
Prisoners are encouraged to enrol in educational programmes at induction and we are recruiting Heads of Education, Skills and Work (HoESW) in all public prisons in England. Their primary responsibility will be to oversee the delivery of education at Prison level.
We encourage governors to incentivise education and they are held to account for ensuring the number of prisoners engaged with vocational courses, Maths and English is sufficiently high compared to their overall population. The curriculum plans are revised regularly to ensure there is a robust link between the education on offer and employment opportunities on release.
Neurodiversity managers are being introduced to assist those with Learning Difficulties and Disability (LDD) needs and all education providers have special needs coordinators in place.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to (a) encourage more prisoners to enrol in educational programs and (b) help prisoners to receive support for learning difficulties or disabilities.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
There are ongoing evaluations of the assessment tools with work being undertaken to look at the most effective way to assess Learning difficulties and disabilities. In March 2025 a new Prison Education Service (PES) will be launched and this will inform the assessment model post 2025.
Prisoners are encouraged to enrol in educational programmes at induction and we are recruiting Heads of Education, Skills and Work (HoESW) in all public prisons in England. Their primary responsibility will be to oversee the delivery of education at Prison level.
We encourage governors to incentivise education and they are held to account for ensuring the number of prisoners engaged with vocational courses, Maths and English is sufficiently high compared to their overall population. The curriculum plans are revised regularly to ensure there is a robust link between the education on offer and employment opportunities on release.
Neurodiversity managers are being introduced to assist those with Learning Difficulties and Disability (LDD) needs and all education providers have special needs coordinators in place.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Prison education: a review of reading education in prisons published by Ofsted on 22 March 2022, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that prisoners who need to improve their reading skills receive adequate and targeted support.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We have made clear that improving prisoners’ literacy and numeracy skills will increase their ability to get jobs when they are released, which, in turn, will cut crime and make our streets safer.
Since the review conducted by OFSTED and HMI Prisons in 2022, we have piloted and launched a reading assessment tool and developed a national reading strategy which is available in all prisons. We have also supported staff delivering this vital work by developing curriculum plans that meet the needs of learners. Teaching staff now have access to appropriate Continuous Professional Development (CPD) around teaching reading, and libraries have resources to allow reading for pleasure. We have also provided training to governing governors on OFSTED expectations to ensure the appropriate literacy curriculum is in place.
In addition, we have expanded the provision of the Shannon Trust who are involved in teaching and supporting prisoners to read, ensuring reading is a part of the regular needs assessment.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Prison education: a review of reading education in prisons published by Ofsted on 22 March 2022, what steps his Department has taken to prioritise reading education in prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We have made clear that improving prisoners’ literacy and numeracy skills will increase their ability to get jobs when they are released, which, in turn, will cut crime and make our streets safer.
Since the review conducted by OFSTED and HMI Prisons in 2022, we have piloted and launched a reading assessment tool and developed a national reading strategy which is available in all prisons. We have also supported staff delivering this vital work by developing curriculum plans that meet the needs of learners. Teaching staff now have access to appropriate Continuous Professional Development (CPD) around teaching reading, and libraries have resources to allow reading for pleasure. We have also provided training to governing governors on OFSTED expectations to ensure the appropriate literacy curriculum is in place.
In addition, we have expanded the provision of the Shannon Trust who are involved in teaching and supporting prisoners to read, ensuring reading is a part of the regular needs assessment.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many in-depth (a) learning difficulties and (b) disabilities assessments were carried out for prisoners who enrolled in an educational programme in the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
64,008 initial screenings for Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (LDD) were carried out in 2022/2023, 57,535 in public sector prisons and 6,473 in private prisons.
31% of prisoners who took an initial screening for LDD in 2022/2023 had an LDD confirmed. It is not possible to split the above figures into disabilities and learning difficulties.
All screening results are stored digitally, and education providers are mandated to check whether a screen exists to avoid duplication.
The number of detailed screenings for learning difficulties and disabilities in 22-23 for prisoners who enrolled on a learning programme was 9,888.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that (a) learning difficulties and (b) disabilities assessments are not repeated for prisoners who serve their sentence in multiple prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
64,008 initial screenings for Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (LDD) were carried out in 2022/2023, 57,535 in public sector prisons and 6,473 in private prisons.
31% of prisoners who took an initial screening for LDD in 2022/2023 had an LDD confirmed. It is not possible to split the above figures into disabilities and learning difficulties.
All screening results are stored digitally, and education providers are mandated to check whether a screen exists to avoid duplication.
The number of detailed screenings for learning difficulties and disabilities in 22-23 for prisoners who enrolled on a learning programme was 9,888.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners given a rapid assessment showed signs of a (a) learning difficulty and (b) disability in 2022-23.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
64,008 initial screenings for Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (LDD) were carried out in 2022/2023, 57,535 in public sector prisons and 6,473 in private prisons.
31% of prisoners who took an initial screening for LDD in 2022/2023 had an LDD confirmed. It is not possible to split the above figures into disabilities and learning difficulties.
All screening results are stored digitally, and education providers are mandated to check whether a screen exists to avoid duplication.
The number of detailed screenings for learning difficulties and disabilities in 22-23 for prisoners who enrolled on a learning programme was 9,888.