This follow-up report to last year’s Ofsted review of the quality of reading education in prisons finds that, while some progress has been made, there has been limited improvement in key areas including assessment, staff resourcing and professional development.
Key findings
Ofsted note that they are pleased to see now that nearly all prisons they inspected have acknowledged the importance of reading, and that this is reflected in most cases in a reading strategy.
They are also pleased to see that many prisons have strengthened their relationship with the Shannon Trust. Some have provided appropriate training for education staff in using phonics programmes.
However, Ofsted maintain that there is more work to do to meet the recommendations made in the original review. For example, staff shortages still limit the quality of reading education in most prisons. Prison staff do not get enough training in how to support prisoners who are learning to read. Also, prisons need to offer more support for the many prisoners learning English as a second or subsequent language.
To view the follow-up report in full, click here
To find out more about the original review see here
