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Prison Service Instructions and Prison Service Orders

There are a number of rules, regulations and guidelines for managing prisons in pursuit of the prison service’s mission. These are outlined in Prison Service Instructions (PSIs) and Prison Service Orders (PSOs).

Prison Service Orders are long-term mandatory instructions which are intended to last for an indefinite period. A number of PSOs set out requirements in relation to different aspects of education and training provision for prisoners. These include:

0550 Prisoner Induction
2205 Offender Assessment and Sentence Management
2300 Resettlement
4201 Open University: Operation of the Prison Service Scheme
4250 Physical Education
4550 Religion Manual
4950 Care and Management of Young People
6710 Prison Libraries

However the main PSOs affecting the provision of education in prisons are:

4200 Education and Training: The Prison Service Education Curriculum Framework (The Core Curriculum), and
4205 Education in Prisons

Prison Service Instructions are mandatory instructions which have a definite expiry date. They are also used to introduce amendments to Prison Service Orders. For example 45/2007 “Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and Identity (ID) for Bank Account Applications by young people (16-18 years of age)” amends the PSO 4465 - Prisoners Financial Affairs.