Comment

Punishment and access to education in prison today

Since the first national penitentiary, Millbank, opened on British soil in 1816, the debate in England and Wales over what prisons are actually for, and what they should try to achieve, has continued almost unabated.

7 February 2020
Comment

The injustice of school 'refusal'

When adults in the workplace experience trauma or anxiety, we expect our employer to be supportive. Our children, on the other hand, are expected to carry on regardless.

28 October 2019
Comment

The closing gap between education and youth justice

It may be unsurprising that young people have to attend the majority of activities associated with their youth justice orders - refined and targeted policies become obsolete when young people are...

29 March 2016
Comment

Generation 2015 – in the eye of a perfect storm?


There is nothing like the simultaneous publication of independent reports on the state of the nation’s youth to whet an appetite for public wringing of hands and conscience-searching. So...

7 October 2015
Comment

Post-16 education and the 'ethnic penalty'

Last time I talked about how we have seen significant improvements in outcomes in primary and secondary education for pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds. However, I also showed how black...

30 September 2014
Publication

Wings of Learning: the role of the prison officer in supporting prisoner education

Previous research has shown that prisoners involved in education value support and encouragement from officers on the wings.

Wings of Learning: the role of the prison officer in supporting prisoner education was aimed at discovering how officers viewed prison education, what support they could offer, and how it might best...