HMP Kirkham

Name of lead inspector: Malcolm Bruce, Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection dates: 14 to 16 November 2022

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Address:

Freckleton Road Kirkham Preston Lancashire PR4 2RN Monitoring visit: HMP Kirkham, 14 to 16 November 2022

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Context and focus of visit

The purpose of the visit is to evaluate the progress that leaders and managers have made in rectifying the weaknesses identified at the most recent visit by Ofsted. This could be an inspection or a progress monitoring visit. This monitoring visit was undertaken as part of the arrangements outlined in the ‘Handbook for inspecting education, skills and work activities in prisons and young offender institutions’ especially the section entitled ‘Monitoring visits’. The focus of this visit is on the themes set out below. Ofsted undertook this monitoring visit in its own right, without accompanying His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP).

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have improved the accuracy and reliability of their assessment of teaching and learning in the education provision at the prison. However, they have not focused on assuring the quality of teaching and learning within the substantial areas of training delivered by prison staff.

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Insufficient progress

In education, leaders have recently introduced more rigorous quality and support mechanisms, to accurately check teaching and learning. As a result, areas for improvement in teaching and learning have been accurately identified, particularly in English and mathematics functional skills. This has led to targeted staff support and additional staff training; prisoners attending education now benefit from a better experience and are beginning to make better progress with their English skills.

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Insufficient progress

In contrast, quality assurance of teaching, learning and assessment for industries and land-based work is still being developed. Managers in these areas use verbal feedback from staff and prisoners, to assess the quality of teaching and learning. However, they do not use any other means of evaluating the quality of education that prisoners receive.

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Insufficient progress

Very few workshop and land-based instructors, have had their training sessions observed, as part of the quality assurance process being established by prison leaders and managers. They have also not ensured that staff have received training related to improving their teaching, learning and assessment practice. Monitoring visit: HMP Kirkham, 14 to 16 November 2022

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Reasonable progress

The actions of leaders and managers have been effective in ensuring that work activities develop prisoners’ employability skills and are suitably challenging and purposeful. However, the development of transferable working skills in prison industries is not always understood by all prisoners, and recorded in all cases sufficiently. Prisoners are developing their English and mathematics skills well within vocational training and in prison industries.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers appropriately prioritise the development of employability skills for prisoners who transition from closed prisons to the open-prison environment in preparation for their release. Instructors support prisoners to improve the development of their skills around work attendance, punctuality, reliability, teamwork and communication skills.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders provide prisoners with additional qualifications and productive work to make them more employable. For example, prisoner supervisors, employed by on-site contractors, are trusted to develop quality assurance systems in food production and packaging, to identify any potential areas of concern. They design labelling and packaging templates that receive customer approval and ensure the regulatory requirements of their industry sectors are met. Employers appreciate the valuable contribution that prisoners make, and often provide additional employment opportunities such as roles in their own businesses or with partner customers.

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Reasonable progress

Just under a third of prisoners benefit from Release on Temporary Licence work opportunities. They demonstrate an increasing ability to hold down employment and interact effectively with the public and employers outside the prison. Prisoners undertaking these work activities benefit from these opportunities to positively reintegrate into society.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers embed English and mathematics across industries and within vocational training. Prisoners learn how to apply mathematics using accurate weights, quantities and measures in farms and gardens. They accurately interpret measurements and calculations when programming machinery in the furniture- making workshops.

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Reasonable progress

Instructors in prison industries, do not routinely highlight the opportunities for prisoners to develop and apply their English and mathematical skills at work. As a result, not all prisoners develop and apply these important skills beyond the functional skills classroom sessions that they attend. Monitoring visit: HMP Kirkham, 14 to 16 November 2022

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have been effective in improving the quality of feedback to prisoners in most of the learning activities that they undertake. In most cases, prisoners receive effective and detailed feedback that enable them to make good progress in their work. They agree targets aimed to develop useful employability skills when released.

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Reasonable progress

Teachers in education and vocational training use a helpful system that supports prisoners to focus on the areas that they need to develop. Furthermore, they readily praise prisoners when they make progress and produce work of a high standard. Teachers focus well on identifying grammar and spelling that needs further development. Most prisoners are able to use the feedback they receive to improve their work and make at least the expected progress.

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Reasonable progress

In vocational training, the feedback given by teachers supports the prisoners to achieve professional standards in readiness for employment on release. For example, in bricklaying, prisoners are taught to produce different types of bonded brickwork. They then receive encouragement to develop their skills to a quicker pace to enable them to work effectively and productively for an external employer. Teachers appropriately incorporate expectations of quickness with a prisoner’s newly acquired expertise, as would be expected in a professional working environment.

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Reasonable progress

In a few lessons, tutors’ assessment and feedback lacks specific guidance to help prisoners develop their skills for future work. In addition, and for a minority of learners, English is not always routinely corrected. As a result, they repeat the same mistakes. In a few prison industries, instructors’ feedback lacks specific guidance to help prisoners develop their employability skills for future work and release. Monitoring visit: HMP Kirkham, 14 to 16 November 2022 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council

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Reasonable progress

children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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