by James Stoddart (post found on LinkedIn)
Around half of people in prison in England and Wales have a reading age below that of an eleven-year-old.
That is a data point with a long history behind it; school exclusion, undiagnosed learning difficulties, disrupted childhoods, poverty. The prison population reflects the people that the education system, the welfare system, and the labour market have most consistently failed.
Prison education should be one of the most powerful levers available. The evidence consistently shows that participation in education during a sentence is associated with lower reoffending. It builds the skills, the confidence, and the credentials that employment requires. It works.
But prison education in England and Wales is chronically underfunded, delivered through a competitive contracting model that prioritises cost over quality, and perpetually disrupted by bang-up, staff shortages, and the operational demands of the regime.
Prisoners are counted as learners when they are enrolled. They are not always in a classroom. Bang-up means education stops. Transfers mean continuity of learning is broken. Short sentences mean courses cannot be completed.
The system funds education in principle and undermines it in practice.
Education is also one of the areas where lived experience matters most. People who have navigated the prison education system and gone on to study, qualify, and contribute have something important to say about what works and what does not. They are not often asked.