Background on the Prisoners Education Trust
1. The Prisoners Education Trust (PET) works to promote, enable and support educational opportunities for prisoners. We make grants to over 2,200 prisoners each year to enable them to take distance learning (DL) courses; we also provide information and advice services and promote support for distance learners (and prisoner learners generally) by training prisoners to be peer learning mentors within prisons. We have a project entitled Learning Matters, which aims to raise the profile of prisoners’ education and learning, encourage debate and influence policy-makers and the public.
2. The Trust believes that learning opportunities should be available to all prisoners. Our core belief is that education has the power to transform people and enable them to make different choices. The feedback received from some of the 20,000 prisoners we have funded since the Trust began deepens our conviction that access to learning and progression in learning are crucial elements in the process of change which leads them away from further crime.
3. We hold a statutory funding contract for grants to prisoners, from the government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and we work closely with prison education staff. We also raise substantial voluntary funds to extend educational opportunities for prisoners.
4. Our credibility comes from the contact we have with offenders and education staff in prisons throughout England and Wales. Each month we process 250-350 applications and respond to each prisoner individually. We also monitor the progress of those we fund. Through Learning Matters, we are developing a broad dialogue with offenders and other stakeholders in this area. We are very clear about the following points;
· Many prisoners recognise that their earlier education did not equip them for life, or realise their potential. They recognise the need for qualifications and skills.
· Most of those who apply for funding are passionate and wholehearted about their desire to study; they make repeated applications if unsuccessful.
· Many achieve excellent results in their studies.
5. We also know from our dialogue with prisoners what the impact of education can be:
· Prisoners acquire qualifications and vocational knowledge; and have a greater chance of employment upon release.
· Prisoners see themselves differently; they gain confidence and self-esteem. They talk about having hope for the future, often for the first time. They develop new aspirations.
· Many also gain a wider worldview; some seek courses that will enable them to play valuable roles in society, working with addicts or in crime diversion.
· They use their time in prison productively; they are more likely to co-operate with the regime and take on voluntary roles. They progress through the system.
6 We know from Home Office research that prisoners who have taken part in education are less likely to be re-convicted. Home Office data also reported that the re-conviction rate for a cohort of 377 prisoners funded by the Trust was less than half the national average.
Our specific contribution
The Trust is the only voluntary agency in the criminal justice sector specialising entirely in offender education and learning, and with a national scope.
We focus on education and learning inside prison because we believe that more needs to be done to maximise the role that education and learning can play in the rehabilitation and resettlement of prisoners. We aim to become recognised as an agency which both delivers services through our grants programme and other projects; and has a credible and informed voice on offender learning issues.
As public sector funding plummets, reducing capacity and provision in prisons, our work will be even more important, both providing services and making the case for learning.
September 2010
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