Thematic report |
An evaluation of post-18 offender learning in Wales - February 2009
Overall, prisons and probation areas offer a wide range of learning choices and qualifications. Partnership working is good, and there are good opportunities for offenders to find employment at the end of their sentence.Nearly all prisons and probation areas help offenders develop their personal and social skills, but most tutors record these achievements well enough. There is not enough provision for those with poor basic skills, and there is not enough provision in the Welsh language.
Recommendations
The Welsh Assembly Government should:
- clarify the funding arrangements for basic skills provision for offenders serving sentences in the community after April 2009; and
- further improve the quality of learning and skills for offenders in prisons and probation.
Providers should:
- ensure there are effective assessment procedures in place for literacy, language and numeracy needs, linked to the planning process, and which include diagnosing learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities; and
- ensure that all offenders have a good quality individual learning plan, linked to their sentence plan, which co-ordinates all of the work done by different agencies.