Setting

Adult Learning Inspectorate

The Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) was established under the provisions of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 to bring the inspection of all aspects of adult learning and work-based learning within the remit of a single inspectorate. The ALI is responsible for inspecting a wide range of government-funded learning, including:

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Adult Learning Inspectorate

• work-based learning for all people over 16 • provision in further education colleges for people aged 19 and over • learndirect provision • Adult and Community Learning • training funded by Jobcentre Plus • education and training in prisons, at the invitation of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons • adult information, advice and guidance services ( nextstep )

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Adult Learning Inspectorate

Inspections are carried out in accordance with the Common Inspection Framework by teams of full-time inspectors and part-time associate inspectors who have knowledge of, and experience in, the work which they inspect. All providers are invited to nominate a senior member of their staff to participate in the inspection as a team member.

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Overall effectiveness

The grades given for achievement and standards and the quality of provision and leadership and management will be used to arrive at a judgement about the overall effectiveness of the provider.

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Overall effectiveness

Outstanding provision should typically have leadership and management and at least two of the three strands within achievement and standards and the quality of provision judged to be a grade 1. All strands within achievement and standards and the quality of provision will be graded 1 or 2.

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Overall effectiveness

Good provision should have leadership and management and at least two of the three strands within achievement and standards and the quality of provision judged to be a grade 2 or better. All strands within achievement and standards and the quality of provision will be grade 3 or better.

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Overall effectiveness

Satisfactory provision should have adequate or better grades in leadership and management and at least two of the strands within achievement and standards and the quality of provision grades. An adequate provider might have a range of grades for the strands within achievement and standards and the quality of provision, with no more than one graded 4.

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Overall effectiveness

Provision will normally be deemed to be inadequate where two or more of strands within achievement and standards and the quality of provision and/or leadership and management are judged to be inadequate.

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Overall effectiveness

The final decision as to whether the provision is inadequate rests with the Chief Inspector of Adult Learning.

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Grading

Inspectors use a four-point scale to summarise their judgements about the quality of provision in occupational/curriculum areas and Jobcentre Plus programmes, as well as to summarise their judgements about the quality of learning sessions. The same scale is used to describe the quality of leadership and management, which includes equality of opportunity. The descriptors for the four grades are:

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Grading

• grade 1 – outstanding • grade 2 – good • grade 3 – satisfactory • grade 4 – inadequate

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Inspection report

Description of the provider 1 Overall effectiveness 2 Key challenges for HMP Peterborough (male) 2 Grades 3 About the inspection 3 What learners like about HMP Peterborough (male) 5 What learners feel HMP Peterborough (male) could improve 5

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Detailed inspection findings

Achievement and standards and the quality of provision 6 Teaching, training and learning 7 Range of provision 9 Guidance and support 11 Leadership and management 13 Annexe 1: range of provision available to learners 16 HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

1. HMP Peterborough (the prison) was opened in March 2005 as a purpose-built prison which offers accommodation to male and female offenders in two separate regimes within the same perimeter wall. The prison is managed, under contract to the Home Office, by Kalyx, which was formerly United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. The prison became fully operational in August 2005 and now serves as the country’s only dual gender prison.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

2. The male section of the prison, which is situated on the outskirts of Peterborough, is a category B local prison. As well as serving the needs of the community, the male prison receives between 25 and 40 new offenders each week, of whom a significant proportion have been transferred from prisons in Greater London. The prison receives offenders from a wide geographical area. The prison director has confirmed plans to introduce an appropriate curriculum for offenders from Wales.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

3. The operational capacity for men is 528, and this will rise to 576 by the end of October 2006. The prison contains a wide range of offenders, 30 per cent of whom are on remand or have not been sentenced. Fifteen per cent of offenders are serving sentences of less than a year, 30 per cent are serving sentences of between one and four years, and 20 per cent are on sentences greater than four years. Sixteen offenders are serving life sentences.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

4. Approximately 50 per cent of offenders are aged between 26 and 40 years. Almost 5 per cent of offenders, all on remand or unsentenced, are under the age of 20 years. There are no juveniles in the prison. Seventy per cent of offenders are white, and 20 per cent are foreign nationals.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

5. Core day-education and work activities take place mornings and afternoons during the week. There is no education or accredited training provision during the evenings or at weekends. A two-hour evening session is held fortnightly for offenders involved in producing the prison magazine.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

6. Between 120 and 130 offenders are allocated to attend education daily, but typically the actual numbers attending were around 100. An over-allocation of learners was made routinely, on the assumption that some learners will be prevented from attending by other regime activities. Most learners attend part-time for a maximum of two sessions. Non-accredited work activities provide full-time employment for 23 per cent of offenders. Most offenders attend part-time. Industrial cleaning and physical education (PE) offer accredited courses, which accommodate 30 learners. No offenders are released on licence for work, or to attend education classes.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

7. An education manager is responsible for the daily operation of the education departments in the female and male areas of the prison. The department employs eight full-time tutors, two part-time tutors and three sessional tutors, and most of the staff teach in both departments. An administration officer is employed in each department.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVIDER

8. Library services are provided by Peterborough City Council. Each education department has a library which is staffed by a team of four library officers who are supported by four orderlies. The library opens for eight sessions each week during education periods, and for two evening sessions and Saturday mornings. HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Grade 4

9. The overall effectiveness of the provision is inadequate. The leadership and management of learning and skills in the prison are inadequate, as are its arrangements for equality of opportunity. The quality of provision in most aspects of employability and vocational training, literacy, numeracy and language, and personal and social development is also inadequate.

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OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Grade 4

10. The inspection team was broadly confident in the reliability of the self-assessment process. The prison has recently introduced an annual quality improvement cycle which incorporates a timetabled calendar of events for self-assessment. Managers from different areas of the prison are involved effectively and they receive adequate training to raise their awareness and understanding of self-assessment, based on the Common Inspection Framework. Current arrangements, do not involve non-managerial staff, learners and other stakeholders sufficiently.

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OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Grade 4

11. The arrangements for self-assessment are fragmented and reports from different areas of the prison are not collated to provide a comprehensive overview of the provision from the perspective of the learner. Plans exist to introduce a learner-centred self-assessment report, which draws on evidence from all stakeholders in the provision of education and training.

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OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Grade 4

12. The findings of the self-assessment report match those of inspectors. Managers have a clear understanding of the issues and the areas for improvement. An appropriate action plan has been developed in response to the self-assessment report.

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OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Grade 4

13. The prison has demonstrated that it has sufficient capacity to make improvements. Senior managers are committed to improving standards, and strategies for developing the education and training provision are detailed in the prison’s three-year development plan. The prison has only been operating for 18 months and it is too soon to evaluate several of the performance targets for education and training.

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OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Grade 4

14. The prison has not introduced several of its contractual requirements, such as the provision of a wide range of accredited vocational training. Currently, the measures introduced by the prison largely focus on increasing the number of offenders in learning in line with its contractual commitments, rather than improving the quality of the prison. The prison, however, has an established framework for quality improvement with identified time scales for introducing new measures and procedures.

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KEY CHALLENGES FOR HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE):

• achieve full commitment to education and training in all areas of the prison • increase the range and opportunities for the development of skills for life, vocational, personal and social skills • improve safe working practices in line with industry requirements • improve arrangements and processes to ensure that learners’ needs are being met in full, particularly allocation procedures • improve staff’s understanding of the application of equality and diversity in the delivery of education and training HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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GRADES

grade1= outstanding, grade 2= good, grade 3= satisfactory, grade 4= inadequate

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Achievement and standards and the quality of provision 4

Contributory grades: Employability and vocational training 4 Literacy, numeracy and language support 4 Personal and social development 4

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Leadership and management 4

Contributory grades: Equality of opportunity 4

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

Number of inspectors 3 Number of inspection days 13 Number of learners interviewed 76 Number of staff interviewed 21 Number of locations/sites/learning centres visited 1 Number of partners/external agencies interviewed 4 Number of visits to the provider 1

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The following strengths and weaknesses were identified during this inspection:

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Strengths

• no significant strengths were identified

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Weaknesses

• very few appropriate work opportunities to meet the resettlement agenda • poor achievement on accredited programmes in information and communications technology (ICT) • insufficient use of learndirect • poor utilisation of workshop space • no literacy and numeracy guidance and support in work activities

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Strengths

• good standards displayed in learners’ key skills portfolios HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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Strengths

© ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE • good use of peer mentors as classroom assistants

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Weaknesses

• delayed starts to most sessions • insufficient use of initial assessment findings to plan learning • erratic attendance patterns • insufficiently stimulating and challenging learning sessions • inadequate arrangements for reviewing learners’ progress and target-setting • poor support for additional learning needs

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Strengths

• good use of a number of opportunities to challenge stereotypes and promote equality and diversity • good range of information, advice and guidance to support resettlement

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Weaknesses

• unsatisfactory levels of punctuality and attendance • inadequate identification of individual learners’ needs • poor arrangements to ensure that learners’ aspirations, needs and preferences are met • narrow range of provision

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Strengths

• good understanding of the wider strategic issues affecting education and training • good procedures framework for communications and quality improvement

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Weaknesses

• restricted delivery and development of education and training • inadequate allocation arrangements • incomplete quality improvement cycle • insufficient progress to widen the scope of vocational training • insufficient management information support for quality improvement HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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WHAT LEARNERS LIKE ABOUT HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE):

• ‘the social studies lessons are always interesting’ • ‘good staff and lots of activities in PE’ • ‘the teachers are okay - they try their best to help’ • ‘I have been able to do the classes I want as there are spaces in most lessons’

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IMPROVE:

• allocation - ‘I didn’t want to be on this course’ • range of courses - ‘there aren’t enough courses to choose from’ , ‘there are no vocationally based courses to help me when I get out’ , ‘I want to do something like painting and decorating, but you can’t do that here’ • progression opportunities - I’d like to do courses at higher levels’ • motivation - ‘the worst thing about education is the unmotivated offenders’ • breaks - ‘we should have tea and coffee at break times like they do in the workshops’ • programme planning - ‘too much boring activity in the workshops’ , ‘not enough education and training to help me meet my parole needs - I’ve not been able to complete courses identified in my sentence plan’ • support for learners - ‘need for officers to work more closely with the offenders and have a greater understanding of our needs’ • access - ‘they need to speed up the processing of our applications to do courses -

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IMPROVE:

everything takes too long’ HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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Employability and vocational training

15. Very few accredited training programmes are available. For example, the contract service workshop, in which learners construct and pack hairnets offers no accredited training. Generally, not enough emphasis is given to training which leads to qualifications, and in most areas, training is only provided to enable the completion of work tasks.

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Employability and vocational training

16. Only PE and industrial cleaning offer training which leads to qualifications. Achievements are satisfactory for these areas, and in industrial cleaning 357 learners have been awarded 565 certificates since February 2006. In PE, 37 offenders have achieved a level 1 gymnasium assistants’ qualification in the past 12 months, although records are not available to indicate the total number of learners who began the course. An accredited short course in manual handing is offered as part of induction to the gymnasium and of 94 learners who began this course during the past year, 52 have completed it successfully.

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Employability and vocational training

17. Although many learners acquire practical computing skills, the achievement level of full ICT qualifications is poor. In the 12 months before inspection, of the 314 learners who began accredited ICT courses, only nine achieved the full qualification, and a further 51 learners gained unit certification. Of only five learners who began level 2 courses, four achieved the qualification.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

18. A good standard of work is displayed in learners’ key skills portfolios. The key skills in communication programme, which leads to national certificates at level 1 and 2, is popular with learners and they receive good advice and support from the tutor. The learners’ portfolios clearly indicate the learners’ depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for their chosen topics. The portfolios show that learners use computers well to achieve very good standards in presentation. The achievement and retention of key skills learners on this programme is good. During the past six months, more than 50 male learners began the key skills programme, of whom 50 per cent achieved the full qualification or passed the end test, and 50 per cent remain on programme.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

19. The level of learners’ achievement in literacy and numeracy is satisfactory, although in numeracy there is no opportunity for learners to achieve qualifications at entry level 1, and in literacy, learners do not sit entry level tests at all. During the past 12 months, of the 469 learners who began literacy courses at level 1 and 2, 78 are still on programme, and 280, or 72 per cent of leavers, achieved the full qualification. In numeracy, 553 learners began at level 1 and 2, of whom 212, or 67 per cent of leavers, were successful. For numeracy at entry level 2 and 3, 70 per cent of learners achieved a full qualification. There has been no achievement of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) qualifications. ESOL courses do not offer learners the chance to take tests. HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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Literacy, language and numeracy

© ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 20. The start of most sessions is delayed. Many classes begin 20 minutes late, or more. Generally, neither staff nor learners show any concern to begin on time, and late arrivals are not challenged. Learners begin work promptly once they arrive in class, but many learners do not enjoy being in classes and quickly become disinterested. Their rate of progress is slow. Several learners interviewed had low expectations for achieving qualifications, and had no desire to learn.

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Personal and social development

21. Achievements for the narrow range of accredited courses are satisfactory. During the 12 months to the end of August 2006, 72 per cent of those learners who completed accredited programmes achieved a qualification. Qualifications are at entry level 3, or at level 1. Current accredited programmes are restricted to personal development, social studies and citizenship, and introduction to business. An anger management course has been completed recently, and learners are awaiting accreditation.

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Personal and social development

22. Five learners achieved recognition in the 2006 Koestler Awards, and one achieved a first prize for creative writing. The prison magazine, which is a good communication tool for offenders, was also highly commended.

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Personal and social development

23. Achievements within learning sessions vary. In the better sessions, learners are well involved, and contribute constructively to discussions. In less successful sessions, learners show little involvement in activities, and some of them are attending courses which they have not chosen.

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Personal and social development

24. A significant number of sessions have poor standards of attendance and punctuality. Less than 50 per cent of the expected number of learners arrived to 50 per cent of the sessions observed. Where attendance was higher, class numbers had been supplemented by learners in-filling on a directed basis, rather than having chosen the class. Learners arrived late for some sessions. In one lesson observed during the inspection, participants were still arriving 40 minutes after the start time. Some tutors act as duty officers and are frequently unable to begin teaching on time.

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Employability and vocational training

25. The prison has recently introduced a new PE timetable. Learners now have at least three opportunities to attend during the week and two at weekends. Enhanced offenders have an additional daily allocation. The training provision in the accredited programme is well received by learners. The facilities for any background knowledge teaching on any programme are severely restricted. There is no suitable classroom in the gymnasium area, but staff cope as well as they can under the circumstances. Background knowledge teaching takes place in the very noisy sports hall, and learners completed a test paper for the manual handling course lying down on exercise mats.

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Employability and vocational training

26. The learndirect provision is not used sufficiently and the management of this facility is inadequate. Frequently, 10 offenders are allocated to the learndirect unit, but typically only four arrive and sometimes learners booked to take tests do not attend. The unit, which is only open for two mornings each week, has been attended by only 26 learners since the beginning of September 2006. At present the learndirect facility is used only to carry out initial assessments of learners’ skills, and these findings are not used formally in learning programmes in other parts of the prison. HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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Employability and vocational training

© ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 27. The industrial cleaning course is completed in only two weeks. The training and assessment is intense, and sometimes three course modules are completed in a single three-hour session. Teaching is largely by demonstration, and assessment is carried out immediately after learners have been shown how to complete tasks. The brevity of the course and its intensity does not provide sufficient time to consolidate learners’ knowledge and practical skills by allowing them adequate time to practise their skills. There is little assurance that learners will be able to carry out the tasks to a satisfactory standard at a later date.

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Employability and vocational training

28. Offenders wishing to work as food servers or cleaners are required to complete the cleaning course successfully. However, offenders frequently work in the kitchens and as cleaners without this preparatory training, and there is not enough monitoring and use of records of learners’ prior achievements and training records. Offenders are frequently required to wait several weeks before being allocated to chosen programmes, and generally these waiting lists are not managed adequately enough to minimise waiting times.

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Employability and vocational training

29. There is no qualified tutor to deliver training in horticulture. Learners frequently demonstrate poor practice in the handling and maintenance of hand tools. For example, tools are not always cleaned and lightly oiled to prevent rust after use. Much of the work on the gardens is low skilled and not challenging enough.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

30. Tutors do not use the findings of initial assessment sufficiently to plan learning. Initial assessment arrangements are poor. In some cases new offenders are not assessed and they often complete the tests in their cells. Many learning sessions contain groups of learners with a wide range of abilities and different learning needs. Initial assessment is not used sufficiently to identify appropriate activities and goals for individual learners. Lesson plans are directed at group activities. Learners are often not challenged by set tasks, and generally tutors do not have sufficient knowledge of learners’ skills and prior achievements.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

31. Learners’ attendance at sessions is erratic, and in many cases the numbers attending differ from the numbers of learners expected. Often, the published lists of learners allocated daily to sessions do not tally with the registers held by tutors. One numeracy session was attended by only six of the 14 registered learners, and the tutor was forced to abandon the intended lesson plan and resort to issuing worksheets about topics previously covered. Learners’ attendance is monitored, but tutors are often unaware of why learners are absent, and are not always sure who will attend in their sessions.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

32. In some cases, staff absences are covered by using offenders in the role of learning support assistants. Although these sessions would otherwise be cancelled, they are not planned sufficiently and the learning support is provided entirely by unqualified and inexperienced supervisors.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

33. Many of the sessions are not stimulating and challenging enough. Often, tutors have little information about new learners’ prior learning and achievements. In one numeracy session a learner who had previously completed an advanced apprenticeship in construction quickly became frustrated when faced with group tasks suited to learners at level 1 and 2. HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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Literacy, language and numeracy

© ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 34. Tutors prepare learning materials for use in class, but there is too much use of paper- based materials. In some cases, tutors had produced their own materials in response to the needs of the learners. Generally, however, learners were bored with the frequent use of worksheets and the infrequent use of class discussions to stimulate ideas, express opinions and describe experiences.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

35. Arrangements to review learners’ progress and to set and revise learning goals are inadequate. Progress review sessions do not take place as a matter of routine, and records of learners’ achievements and progress are poor and incomplete. Individual learning plans are not individual enough, and they do not provide guidance for learning. In many cases, learning and achievement targets in the individual learning plans are the same for all learners regardless of their prior experience and achievements. Many of the recorded learning goals are too vague to be of use in guiding learning and measuring learners’ progress.

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Personal and social development

36. A good number of opportunities have been taken to challenge prejudice and promote equality and diversity. The Anne Frank exhibition was used well to raise awareness among offenders and staff. A team of offenders was briefed and used effectively as guides to the exhibition. A visiting speaker stimulated considerable interest and involvement of offenders. Within teaching sessions, discussions are used well to challenge and encourage a greater awareness and understanding of diversity issues. However, racist comments by learners are not challenged routinely in all lessons.

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Personal and social development

37. Resources are adequate enough to support the narrow range of programmes on offer. However, information technology is not used sufficiently to improve learning, and there is not enough basic equipment. For example, some tutors supply learners with pens at their own expense. The classrooms in the education block are furbished appropriately, and are of an adequate size for current groups. Some classrooms do not have any external light and some sessions, such as the parenting course in The Link, are subject to an inappropriate level of external noise.

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Personal and social development

38. Individual learners’ needs are not identified adequately in planning their learning. The transfer of information from initial assessment to tutors is poor. In some instances, tutors identify learners’ literacy and numeracy needs informally by a process of trial and error, then try to provide appropriate support. There is no consistent use of individual learning plans to identify learners’ needs, and to set targets and monitor learners’ progress. Lesson plans are generic rather than individually focused or differentiated.

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Personal and social development

39. Arrangements to ensure that learners’ aspirations, needs and preferences are met are poor. Learners’ needs, which are identified as part of sentence planning, are not met quickly enough by allocating them to appropriate courses. Learners are directed into classes they did not opt for, and some of those interviewed had not opted for education at all. Some learners are not motivated and disrupt classes for those who do wish to learn. There is an unacceptable level of learners joining and leaving sessions.

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Employability and vocational training

40. The range of work activities offered by the prison is very narrow, and work opportunities available to meet the resettlement agenda are very inappropriate. There are not enough activities or work opportunities to provide learners with the skills and HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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Employability and vocational training

© ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE knowledge that they will need for employment on their release. Of the 526 offenders, only 23 per cent have full-time activities. The largest areas of allocated activities are cleaning, laundry and the kitchens together with the contracting workshops. These activities provide only a narrow range of job skills and no opportunities to gain qualifications. There is not enough emphasis on providing work activities which give learners the employability skills useful to them as part of resettlement.

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Employability and vocational training

41. The space in workshops is used poorly. Two large workshops are allocated to making hairnets and contract packing. During inspection, only 34 offenders were active in the workshops. The industrial cleaning workshop is very spacious and during inspection only five offenders were on the course at any one time. Attendance at the workshops is poor and many learners are very frustrated at not being able to develop employment skills for release or parole.

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Employability and vocational training

42. The prison plans to increase the accredited provision in PE, and approval has been given to provide community sports leader awards. A polytunnel for horticulture is currently being constructed, but there is no experienced or qualified horticulturist to develop the facility.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

43. The range of provision is narrow and inadequate to meet learners’ needs. Not enough sessions are timetabled to allow learners to be placed by skills level, and literacy, numeracy and language classes are composed of mixed-ability groups. Modes of learning are largely directed at paper-based activities and are not related directly to the measured skills levels of learners. The sessions are lengthy and many learners lose interest well before the end of classes.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

44. Many learners complained that they had to attend particular classes in education and that there was not enough choice. Generally, learners feel that the range of programmes on offer is too narrow and focuses too much on English and mathematics. There are no opportunities to receive key skills training in the workshops. Some offenders receive literacy and numeracy support on the residential wings, but this provision extends to only one session each week. The support tutor time available is not enough to meet the demands of those learners wishing to be involved in learning outside the education department. Some learners receive ‘in cell’ support in literacy and numeracy from other offenders acting in the role of learning support tutor, but this support is largely unmonitored and its effectiveness is not routinely evaluated by education staff.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

45. Only restricted opportunities are available for learners to achieve qualifications, particularly below level 1. Priority is given to learners at level 1 and 2, and greater importance is placed on learners achieving certificates at level 1 and 2, to support the achievement of targets. Learners have few opportunities to study to higher levels and the learndirect facility is used poorly to support learning in literacy, numeracy and language.

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Personal and social development

46. The range of provision is restricted. In addition to the narrow range of accredited courses available to learners, there are non-accredited courses in art, creative writing, and Spanish. Learners do not have sufficient opportunities for progression. They consider that the programme does not offer sufficient opportunities to help them when they are released. The range of opportunities is being reduced rather than increased, HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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Personal and social development

© ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE and there is a high rate of staff turnover. Replacing staff has been slow and difficult, and some of the current staff are caretaking programmes for which they are not qualified. In some instances courses have been cancelled. A training programme that had been developed to help offenders prepare for working with the Connexions service has recently been discontinued.

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Employability and vocational training

47. There is no literacy and numeracy support in any of the activities. Some offenders are referred to education classes, but many refuse to go. They receive no support to acquire skills for life, which is the government’s strategy on training in literacy, numeracy and the use of language, even in cases where the need has been identified by initial assessment. Key skills training has not been introduced to the workshops or work areas.

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Employability and vocational training

48. The prison regime does not provide suitable training or learning facilities to prepare offenders for work, education and training, on their release. No programmes are available to give them suitable training. There is no recycling of any waste products. Offenders are not taught or encouraged to learn to separate waste, as in domestic households. There are no programmes to help reduce skills shortages, such as those in care and catering.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

49. Initial assessment results are not used sufficiently to plan learning and ensure that learners’ support needs are met. As well as using the Basic Skills Agency test for literacy and numeracy, the prison works in partnership with an outside organisation as part of a diagnostic assessment project which is funded through the European Social Fund. These tests provide in-depth assessments of learners’ literacy and numeracy skills, but the findings are rarely used in the development of learning plans.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

50. Generally, learners are supported adequately in the classroom, although in some cases the demands made on the tutors restricts their ability to respond to learners’ needs. In some lessons, tutors are supported by offenders who act as learning support assistants. The use of peer mentors within the education department is good, and provides a satisfying experience for those acting as learning support assistants as well as providing additional support for learners. One offender, with no previous experience of teaching, is being employed effectively as a classroom assistant in literacy and numeracy classes. However, in some cases, including ESOL sessions, the learning support assistants are used to cover for absent teaching staff. This often takes place without direct supervision and the quality of these offender-led sessions is variable.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

51. Learners’ progress is rarely reviewed systematically. In many cases, individual learning plans are not revised, and the learning goals identified are too vague and generalised to be of use in measuring progress.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

52. The provision to support learners with additional learning needs is poor. There are no support tutors, for areas such as dyslexia, and there are no formal arrangements to provide in-class support to individual learners. Groups of learners in classes present a very wide range of ability and experience, and tutors are poorly prepared to meet individual support needs. Some individual support sessions, typically 10 to 20 minutes’ duration, are provided to learners on the wings, but there are no similar sessions in the HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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Literacy, language and numeracy

© ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE education department. There is no specialist equipment for learners with disabilities and learning difficulties, and very little use of computers to support learning.

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Literacy, language and numeracy

53. Many learners complained about insufficient opportunities to use the library. Although access to the library during education hours is satisfactory, very few learners are able to visit the library outside these hours. A timetable for visits from offenders on the wings exists, but attendance records show that many sessions have no visitors. The library’s resources to support learning are restricted. The book stock consists largely of fiction materials, and there are few books to support learning for foreign nationals and learners with low reading skills.

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Personal and social development

54. A good range of information, advice and guidance is available to support the resettlement of offenders. The Link ensures that there is a successful focal point for information, advice and guidance that offenders can access throughout the week, and at any point during their sentences. Induction is carried out in The Link each afternoon. A housing officer is based there on a full-time basis. External service providers attend regularly, and include the Citizens Advice Bureau, Jobcentre Plus and the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, which provides an adviser to give advice on education opportunities and careers.

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Personal and social development

55. The Link provides the basis for an effective internal Connexions service which supports new offenders, and those about to leave, with information to ease their transition. Currently, nine offenders act as Connexions workers on the male side of the prison. The experience is proving to be developmental for them, as well as being supportive for their peers. Services at The Link are provided by appointment and there are sometimes delays. The Link provides opportunities for offenders to develop employability skills, with one carrying out reception duties, and two others supporting the Connexions provision. Well-subscribed and effective parenting courses are provided regularly by an external voluntary organisation in The Link. HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Grade 4

56. Understanding of the wider strategic issues that affect learning and skills is good at manager level. Self-assessment has been carried out at senior manager level and the findings match those of the inspection and clearly identify areas for improvement. They have been incorporated into a three-year business plan, and an associated action plan, to achieve the prison’s strategic goals for education and training. Managers displayed an openness and honesty in their evaluation of the prison’s performance. They recognise their failings in meeting several of the requirements of the prison’s Home Office contract, particularly in meeting targets for the introduction of a curriculum for education and training that is adequate to meet the needs of offenders. Managers’ understanding of the issues is being used effectively as they begin to introduce new operational measures for improvement.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Grade 4

57. The managers have introduced a good procedures framework to support lines of communication and quality improvement. Lines of communication within the prison are good. Timetabled meetings for managers take place frequently, with daily operational managers’ meetings and weekly meetings for departmental managers. Resettlement management meetings are held monthly and a monthly resettlement newsletter is circulated to all staff. Quarterly meetings for managers of the three prisons managed by Kalyx enable ideas to be exchanged and information and good practice to be shared.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Grade 4

58. The present Home Office contract was drawn up three years prior to the opening of the prison. Many changes in the operational arrangements of the prison have taken place since then in response to Home Office needs, such as increases in the population and changes in the category of offender. The current contract places great emphasis on the achievement of targets for the delivery of learner hours. Current regimes are struggling to achieve these targets and managerial procedures have been implemented to improve the volume of education, training and work activities, without ensuring the quality of delivery. In many cases what is delivered is of poor quality, and falls well short of meeting the needs of the learners.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Grade 4

59. Current arrangements for allocating learners to education, training and work do not meet the learners’ needs. Offenders are allocated to activities on a daily basis, by one administrative officer for all female and male offenders. These arrangements are inadequate and do not ensure that offenders are placed in activities which meet their preferences, their needs, or the requirements of their sentence plans. The prison frequently sends offenders to education and training who do not wish to attend. In other cases, offenders with particular requirements, such as attending anger management programmes, frequently experience delays in being allocated to these programmes. Offenders complain of being sent to inappropriate activities, and many arrive in education with little intention of improving their skills or completing the courses.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Grade 4

60. Quality improvement is managed by the corporate head of learning and skills who visits the prison fortnightly. He has frequent contact with the head of resettlement and provides support, advice and guidance, links to other prisons, and updating for managers about employment and training developments in the community. The prison holds monthly quality improvement group meetings, and membership of the group has expanded this year to include the chaplaincy, industries and healthcare. However, the prison has not achieved continuous quality improvement yet. Some offender consultation exercises and course evaluations have taken place, but the results are not used effectively. Staff appraisal procedures are satisfactory, and budgets are dedicated HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Grade 4

© ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE to support staff training. Staff do not understand and support the prison’s strategic vision and improvement strategy sufficiently. Arrangements for classroom observations have been introduced and there are clear guidelines to allow observers to provide consistency in practice. These arrangements are recent, and many staff have not yet been observed. So far, classroom observations have not had sufficient effect on improving the quality of teaching.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Grade 4

61. Not enough progress has been made to widen the scope of vocational training. In some instances, such as the provision of low-skilled assembly work, the range of vocational training has been reduced. The woodskills workshop, which delivered accredited training, was converted for this purpose. Attempts by managers to engage with local and national employers to increase training opportunities have been largely unsuccessful. This aspect of the prison’s resettlement work is weak, and the prison has few lines of communication with companies to which offenders can be referred as part of their preparation for release into employment.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Grade 4

62. Management information systems do not fully support quality improvement. Performance data is collected and used systematically to monitor the prison’s performance against contract targets, such as the numbers of learner hours delivered, and classroom efficiency. However, not enough data is collected which focuses on the quality of learning delivered. The data which is collected for education and training is difficult to validate and inspectors had little confidence in its reliability. Current systems provide overall performance data for departments, rather than programmes. The data cannot be fully evaluated to assess the effectiveness of the provision in meeting the needs of the learners.

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Equality of opportunity Contributory grade 4

63. A recent change in policy has allowed offenders an entitlement of two, weekly sessions in education, if they request it, to try and improve attendance. It is too early to assess the effects of this initiative. Another recent change has introduced an equal pay system for all activities, so there is no financial disadvantage to those attending education. Managers have decided that there will be a no smoking policy in the prison, except in cells, from November 2006. At present, offenders and staff are allowed to smoke in corridors used for break periods. These corridors become extremely smoky and the wishes of non-smokers for smoke-free air have previously been disregarded.

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Equality of opportunity Contributory grade 4

64. Some good opportunities are taken to challenge prejudice and to promote equality and diversity. An Anne Frank exhibition adjacent to the education department was used effectively to raise awareness of the destructive nature of racial hatred. A team of volunteer offenders acted as guides to the exhibition. A visiting speaker stimulated considerable interest and involvement from offenders. Some learning sessions included good discussions to challenge and encourage a greater awareness and understanding of diversity issues. However, racist comments by learners are not routinely challenged in learning sessions. Differentiation and diversity are not promoted sufficiently in learning sessions. Some staff do not include modes of learning and learning materials which are appropriate to the diverse range of cultures exhibited by learners.

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Equality of opportunity Contributory grade 4

65. Minority ethnic focus groups have been held in order to identify any issues or concerns related to specific cultural groups. A diversity group has also been established, but only since May 2006, and it is too soon to judge the effects. There have been suggestions to hold cultural awareness days, but none have been held as yet. HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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Equality of opportunity Contributory grade 4

© ADULT LEARNING INSPECTORATE 66. Generally, managers have not been active enough in resolving equality and diversity matters. For example, there are not enough places to allow for full-time employment, and equality of opportunity has not been achieved. Although book stocks have been improved, the range of books in the library does not reflect the diversity of the prison population. Not enough books are available to encourage the development of reading at all levels. There are no facilities to provide tea and coffee to offenders in education during their breaks, although these facilities are available in other areas, such as the workshops and PE. HMP PETERBOROUGH (MALE)

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RANGE OF PROVISION AVAILABLE TO LEARNERS

At the time of the inspection, 65.8 per cent of offenders were engaged in accredited learning and 20.6 per cent were engaged in structured non-accredited learning. Their distribution is as follows:

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RANGE OF PROVISION AVAILABLE TO LEARNERS

Learning and skills activity Levels Provider Number of current learners Additional notes

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RANGE OF PROVISION AVAILABLE TO LEARNERS

Literacy Level 1 and 2 prison 67 Accredited courses (OCR and AQA) National certificates Numeracy Entry level 2 and 3 and level 1 and 2 prison 42 National certificates Accredited course (OCR, AQA) ESOL Entry levels prison 12 Accredited (OCN) Key skills Level 1 and 2 prison 26 Portfolios Accredited (OCR) ICT Level 1 prison 31 New CLAIT Accredited (OCR) learndirect No specific levels prison 6 Non-accredited Accredited (OCR) Gym instructors Level 1 prison 15 Focus, YMCA Industrial cleaning Level 1 and 2 prison 30 British Institute of Cleaning Sciences Gardens Entry level prison 24 No accreditation Business studies Level 1 prison 14 Accreditation (ASET ) Independent living skills programmes Entry level 3 and level 1 prison 21 Accredited (OCN and ASET) (personal development, budgeting, citizenship) Islamic studies Basic prison 9 Accreditation Art Level 1 prison 35 No accreditation Spanish Level 1 prison 8 No accreditation Social studies Level 1 prison 14 No accreditation

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RANGE OF PROVISION AVAILABLE TO LEARNERS

Note: some offenders are attending more that one learning programme *denotes provision included in the inspection sample

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