Prisoners who are studying should be given laptops to ensure they can complete their education, a new report recommends.

They should also have access to online learning resources, it says, although it raises concerns about prisoners having “unfettered” access to the internet.

The House of Commons’ Education Committee study says as long as security can be assured and access is tightly restricted to educational purposes, it recommends the Ministry of Justice provide in-cell laptops.

The committee’s report notes that in December 2020, Ofsted rated just nine out of 32 institutions as “good” for their prison education, with none rated “outstanding”.

It highlights “the cracks in a clunky, chaotic, disjointed system which does not value education as the key to rehabilitation”.

Data shows more than 30% of prisoners have a learning disability or learning challenges – which is likely to be an underestimate, given that prisons rely on inmates identifying their own needs.

There are just 25 special educational needs and disabilities coordinators (Senco) across the prison estate, equating to about one Senco for every four prisons.

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It also recommends the Ministry of Justice introduces a consistent assessment for every prisoner upon entry to prison from an educational psychologist, “or at the very least a more intensive form of screening”.

It calls for a “whole prison approach” to prisoners with learning difficulties, as a lack of information sharing between departments prevents inmates from accessing the help they need.

And it goes further – saying the government should pass laws that allow prisons to access inmates’ previous educational records through the National Pupil Database.

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It recommends digital education passports be introduced for prisoners, so that inmates transferred to other prisons at short notice can continue their education as quickly as possible, and do not become disheartened through delays in passing on information about their studies.

“It is unacceptable that the effort made by prisoners in improving themselves can be so easily discarded,” the report says.

The report says that links between prisons and employers should be improved, given that the reoffending rate for adult prisoners released from custody is 42%, at an estimated yearly cost of £15bn.

Ending the six-year rule

A deputy governor of learning should also be responsible for educational outcomes for prisoners in each institution, the report says.

It adds that the current student loan regulations do not allow prisoners with more than six years left before their earliest release date to access student loans.

“This regulation disproportionately affects people who might benefit most from higher-level study. The government must remove the ‘six-year rule’ so that prisoners on long sentences can apply for higher education courses earlier in their sentence,” it argues.

The report says that prison education is in a “poor state” following long-term decline. In the year 2017-18, the number of prisoners participating in a course equivalent to AS-levels or above showed a 90% decrease compared to the 2010/11 academic year.

Robert Halfon, chair of the committee, said: “For the majority of offenders, prison must be a place where an old life ends, and a new one begins.

“The key to starting again is education. Education – from a practical apprenticeship to a masters’ degree – increases employability, one of the most important factors in reducing reoffending.”

He added that six years’ after the review of prison education by Dame Sally Coates, “prison education is in a chaotic place”.

“Shambolic transfer of records, no assessment for educational needs and the lack of access to modern learning tools add up to paint a dismal picture.”

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