2B:What is ‘success’ in teaching, training and learning?

In one prison, teachers carry out programme audits and task analysis for their vocational programmes of study in order identify the basic skills demands within them. Teachers then find opportunities to integrate literacy, numeracy and language support within their courses of study. In addition to this very effective use of vocational contexts, prisoners’ interest is sustained by using topical events. New topics and ideas are introduced regularly, for example, current news stories, Comic Relief, the Read On campaign etc.

 

Carl is an inmate at an open prison. He works on the prison farm. The prison is very keen that inmates gain national accreditation.

At the moment Carl does not have any accreditation. One of his main aims is to get Open College Network Literacy at Level 1 and then move on to Level 2 exams.

Carl says, ‘I booked myself into a childcare course and I am doing meditation studies. I want to get as many qualifications as I can before I get out. I have done some literacy and this has helped with my spelling, you know, making proper sentences, where to put full stops and commas. I have done more things here than when I was out or in school. I have had the willpower to actually do things while I have been here. While you are here you have got the opportunities to do things.

‘When I get out I still want to do my studies. I want to get back into work and I want to be able to write letters to get my little boy back. Being here in prison has given me the kick up the **** [backside] I really needed.’

The best practice exploits technology as far as is permissible within the prison context. One prison uses specially designed multimedia materials to motivate and engage prisoners, especially those coming into computerised learning for the first time. The innovative packages include pictures, animations, games, music and videos that relate to real-life and work situations. These multimedia resources capture and maintain prisoners’ interest, thereby providing them with plenty of opportunities to develop literacy, numeracy and language skills in a structured and meaningful way.

Lucinda is an inmate at a closed women’s prison. Lucinda says, ‘I am 19 years old. Since I have been in this prison, as well as the childcare, I have been to English classes. I have done a bit of writing and some spelling. I can’t remember what the writing was about. When I bathed the baby I made sure his back was not falling. I probably could have dried him a bit more.’

The provider for one prison holds monthly teacher meetings to review assessment procedures, examine prisoners’ tasks and agree on levels. The literacy, numeracy and ESOL curricula are proving particularly useful as standardisation tools. Managers are closely monitoring the assessment procedures to ensure that effective practice is shared on the theory of assessment design and that underlying principles are being put into practice.

One prison provider uses a daily log of work, which serves as a tool for formative assessment of prisoners’ progress. Prisoners are actively involved in discussing learning gains and challenges in daily sessions and they record these in their daily logs. All teachers are offered training in understanding the difference between constructive feedback and criticism. Teachers are given comprehensive guidelines and checklists to support the process. They are encouraged always to start with the positives and to make their meaning clear to prisoners. The collaborative nature of the process is constantly stressed and prisoners are encouraged to identify choices that promote personal growth and development.

One prison provider ensures that basic skills teachers meet once a term to review learning materials. All teachers are provided with a checklist to ensure that all learning materials promote equality of opportunity. Teachers agree that learning materials must be age appropriate and learner centred in their approach, with clear aims, objectives and learning outcomes. They should be of high quality, use ‘real-life’ contexts and offer learners the opportunity to acquire and develop basic skills. The materials are open to differentiation and accessible to prisoners with different levels of skills. Special attention is paid to issues of cultural diversity, including the appropriateness of language and visual images. Equally importantly, teachers are in agreement that all good learning materials must avoid stereotypes, be practical, relevant, up to date and adaptable. Teachers have all availed themselves of either the two-day Skills for Life materials training or the Supported Phase 2 one-day cascade event. These training days, which build on existing effective practice, have been particularly useful in providing exemplar materials to contribute to existing resources and materials development.

One provider offers regular training in adapting authentic materials from the workplace. Materials are made more accessible by examining layout, vocabulary and checking for readability. Teachers aim for a readability level that will enable the majority of prisoners to understand the information given.

Teachers use a checklist and follow clear guidelines that include:

• keeping readability level down to 10
• keeping the sentence length short
• discarding unnecessary information
• using a clear, good-sized font
• avoiding having too much information on one page
• using graphics and illustrations wherever possible.

In one prison, the teachers are adaptable, versatile and creative in planning and managing teaching and learning in the main education department, in the workshops, in the segregation unit and in the prison wings. Once teachers have identified learning needs or difficulties, extra support is offered wherever the learner may be sited in the prison. Appropriate accommodation is provided wherever possible within the prison. Teaching accommodation is not always available on all the wings, such as in the basic regime and the segregation unit, but teachers make effective use of available tables and chairs for short one-to-one teaching sessions with individual prisoners. Confidential interviews are sometimes impractical in the prison setting, but teachers aim to interview prisoners discreetly.

Once out of earshot of other prisoners or staff, learners are quite happy to share concerns about their literacy, numeracy and language needs, including perceived barriers. Prisoners who express an interest in continuing their studies ‘in cell’ are encouraged to do so, and teachers endeavour to provide such prisoners with appropriate resources to suit their particular needs.

Carl is an inmate at an open prison. He recollects, ‘Years before this place was a prison, it was a boys’ borstal. Many of the boys came from the middle of Birmingham and they didn’t know anything about animals. They would arrive here on the farm at 6.30 a.m. On this particular day, the boys were told to do the milking. They were told they must wash the cows thoroughly before milking and were given a bucket with disinfectant. When the prison officer came back he was very cross because the cows had not been washed. When he questioned the boys, they said they had washed the cows. They had washed the cows’ faces!’