The OLASS philosophy underpinning learning opportunities in prison
The introduction of OLASS seeks to ensure that a comprehensive learning service is provided for offenders. The Offender’s Learning Journey describes this offer by providing a detailed specification of the elements the learning provider is expected to deliver, which should be personalised to the individual’s needs. Although, for funding purposes, private prisons are not currently part of the OLASS arrangements, they should aim to deliver a learning service that meets the Offender’s Learning Journey requirement, and to link their learning activity with establishments from or to which prisoners are transferred. With some ten percent of prisoners held in private prisons, and with regular movement of offenders between public and private prisons, ensuring the smooth transfer of information between establishments and the delivery of a learning service that looks and feels the same in different places is an important requirement. Offenders moving between English and Welsh prisons should find a broadly similar system, albeit one that will increasingly reflect the devolved arrangements for education and training that apply in Wales.
The needs of adult offenders and those aged under 18 are different, and this is particularly the case for those below school leaving age. Mainstream educational policies setting out different entitlements for those aged 14–19 adds a further layer of complexity, as does the expectation that higher education will be available to those who have the ability to study at that level. This has meant the production of two versions of the Offender’s Learning Journey, one for adults and one for those aged under 18.
The comprehensive agenda se by the Offender’s Learning Journey requires the needs of those with special educational needs, those with learning difficulties and disabilities, and those with particular issues such as dyslexia to be assessed and appropriate support delivered. Offender education arrangements are part of the national Skills for Life Strategy, so materials used for initial assessments, teaching and the improvement of standards in basic skills are all developed with the particular needs of offender learners in mind. Not surprisingly OLASS providers in prisons are – and are likely to remain – among the largest providers of education for literacy, numeracy and language in the country.
The Offender’s Learning Journey has a new focus on vocational training, signalling a clear increase in its importance and an expectation that, over time, the nature of the skills delivered will change to align more clearly with employer needs. This is unlikely to be a static process and the expectation is that delivery will continue to shift and alter over time. Opportunities for gaining national qualifications are also available to offenders undertaking unpaid work whilst under the supervision of the National Probation Service, and prisoners can gain a range of nationally recognised qualifications through activities such as PE, gardening, catering and cleaning as well as through work in prison workshops.
The two publications (for adult and juvenile offenders) describing The Offender’s Learning Journey, which was commissioned by the LSC, Youth Justice Board, the Department for Education and Skills and the Prison Service, can be accessed here.