Prisoners: GCSE

(asked on 21st July 2016) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 8 July (HL849), what is the difference in the rate of GCSE attainment between prisons where education is provided by the Offender Learning and Skills Service and the Skills Funding Agency, and privately managed prisons responsible for providing education under their contract with the National Offender Management Service.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Nash
This question was answered on 13th September 2016

The Department for Education does not publish a rate of attainment for prison education provided by the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS). The Ministry of Justice also does not collect this information for offenders in the privately managed prisons responsible for providing education under their contract with the National Offender Management Service.

The volume of offender achievements by level in 2014/15 for prison education provided by OLASS is shown in the table below.

Adult (18+) Offender Achievement by Level (2014/15)

Level

2014/15

Total Offender Students

84,900

Below Level 2 (excluding English and maths)
English and maths
Full Level 2
Full Level 3

69,700
21,100
10,600
-

Level 2
Level 3
Level 4+
No Level Assigned

32,700
200
-
300

1) Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100.

2) Figures for English and maths (previously Skills for Life) include GCSEs, Functional Skills, Adult Basic Skills Certificates including ESOL Certificates, and Qualifications and Credit Framework Certificates and Awards in English and maths.

We are committed to improving the quality of education across the prison estate. The Government has accepted all the recommendations made by Dame Sally Coates in her recent independent review of prison education. The Department for Education and Ministry of Justice will continue to work together to implement these recommendations.

Reticulating Splines