The Chief Inspectors of Ofsted and HMI Prisons have written a joint commentary discussing the impact of COVID-19 on prison education and announcing the launch of a new prison education review.

The commentary draws on evidence from 25 remote visits to adult prisons in early 2021 and 10 progress monitoring visits undertaken by Ofsted between May and July this year. It includes a number of recommendations, including that assessments should be used to identify gaps in learning and to quickly support learners back into the classroom; there should be as many vocational training opportunities and places as possible; and that induction backlogs must be cleared as a priority. All prisoners, including those on shorter sentences, should receive a timely and effective induction to education, skills and work when they are placed in prison.

Read the commentary and find out about the review.