Career development within education and training in prisons
The Government accepts that those working with offenders have to some extent felt like a Cinderella service, working in relative isolation from the broader learning and skills sector, with poor access to development and support networks. The review of the prison curriculum by the Learning and Skills Development Agency reported "teacher expertise is an important factor in the curriculum offered, yet staff development opportunities are often insufficient". Prison education contractors are obliged to provide in-service training and to offer support for the career progression of all staff delivering learning and skills.
At the thirteen prisons where Strode College is the provider all of the College’s quality, personnel and financial policies and practices are fully applied. A comprehensive staff development programme for prison education staff is delivered on site, in College or through external provision.
From September 2007 all teachers within the learning and skills sector must register with the Institute for Learning (IfL) and undertake 30 hours continuous professional development each year. This applies, at a pro rata rate for part-time teacher staff, however many lack time to attend staff development meetings, especially those working in several prisons. Raising the profile of education and training within the prison service has begun to happen with:
- The introduction of a new Star award for teachers of offender
- The bringing offender learning into the mainstream of work supported by the Learning and Skills Council
As resources allow, the Government intends to place a new emphasis on the development of the offender learning workforce. Teachers, trainers, assistants and officers who are working with offenders in education programmes, vocational training, industrial workshops and offending behaviour programmes need the opportunity to:
- be supported to embed units of accredited literacy, language, numeracy and wider key / personal development into their programmes
- be part of a regular inspection regime
- develop coherent approaches to supporting individual learners
- take advantage of national quality improvement, training and support initiatives, such as the Skills for Life Quality Initiative, the Key Skills Support Programme and Success for All.
The Institute for Learning (IfL), which provides the mechanism by which teachers register and progress through to Licensed Practitioners, will also play an important role. All Registered Teachers are required to be members of the Institute for Learning. In addition, the IfL has developed a model of teacher professionalism, which is used to develop policies and tools that support a teacher’s CPD planning. This work is underpinned by the professional standards for teachers drawn up by Lifelong Learning UK. From September 2007 all new entrants to teaching in Further Education must have an approved initial teaching qualification to enable them to work towards Qualified Teacher: Learning and Skills (QTLS) status, or in some limited circumstances, Associate Teacher: Learning & Skills (ATLS).
This requirement now applies to the offender learning workforce. Consequently, mentors of teachers working towards QTLS status in prison may need to have direct experience of working in prisons, or at least a well-developed understanding of it, to have credibility with their mentees. To assist this Strode College and the University of Plymouth have developed a specialised, accredited module for staff working with offenders in custody or in the community.
The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) also provides research-informed leadership development and tailored leadership support to all post-16 provider organisations.