1A: How to achieve success with learner achievement

In young offender institutions, it has sometimes been difficult to measure achievement, particularly in remand units where young people may only be at the prison for two to three weeks. Many young offenders have not learnt good behaviour and will openly express their feelings towards staff. Young offenders can also be truculent and uncooperative, often as a result of stressful family situations or problems at home. This can affect their ability to concentrate as well as their motivation to achieve.

The Skills for Life strategy aims to give young offenders opportunities to develop. It enables them to see for themselves what they are capable of and able to achieve. For teachers, working with young offenders means ‘doing with’ and not ‘doing to’. Literacy and numeracy programmes in particular need to be exciting, engaging, creative and innovative so that they draw the learner into learning. This approach will often help to improve basic skills, enhance employment opportunities upon release and ultimately reduce recidivism.

Assessment

The overall purpose of initial assessment is to allow teachers and learners to:

• agree the starting points
• decide on appropriate targets for literacy, numeracy and language (ESOL)
• plan routes towards reaching these targets.

The accurate assessment of current ability and learning needs is essential for learning programmes in young offender institutions. All screening and assessment should be based on the national standards. Effective initial assessment forms the basis for planning the learning programmes. It will help learners understand their strengths and weaknesses and give them the confidence to improve their skills. The Basic Skills Agency (BSA) initial assessment is a good starting point.

Individual needs

Effective providers ensure that initial and diagnostic assessments are applied sensitively to meet individual needs. Many young prisoners may be experiencing a range of symptoms from emotional problems to withdrawal from substance or alcohol abuse. The effect of such problems can be to mask the true picture of an individual’s ability.

Initial assessment, if carried out well, accurately and in a supportive manner, will identify attainment – the level of knowledge a learner has already reached. It will also identify potential – what a learner could be capable of achieving. From that point, providers can ascertain the level of programme a learner should start on, and develop plans to help them learn new skills.

The assessment will also show learners where they could benefit from additional help and support with, for example dyslexia or similar learning difficulties. Crucially, the initial assessment provides the basis for measuring the ‘distance travelled’ by the learner.

Electronic initial assessments are now being used successfully in some establishments. These are often more popular with learners than traditional pen and paper assessments, and they enable learners to work at their own pace. They also give learners an immediate understanding of their learning needs.

In young offender institutions, it is important that all assessment information travels with the learner so that they are not asked to re-take assessments at a new institution. Spend time with the learners so that they understand the purpose of the process and receive encouraging and timely feedback on the results of the assessment.

Success can be achieved through short, focused assessment activities, short- and long-term learning goals on ILPs and frequent reviews of learners’ progress. Ongoing learner support is crucial.

Individual learning plans

For effective providers, individual learning plans (ILPs) are much more than part of an ‘audit trail’. They are live documents that are continually referred to and amended throughout a learner’s programme. They will contain:

• information from the initial and diagnostic assessments for literacy, numeracy and language (ESOL)
• information on learning styles
• the personal or social goals the learner wants to achieve
• goals for the programme overall
• dates for reviewing the learner’s progress
• space to record when targets have been achieved
• the signatures of the learner and teacher, mentor or adviser.

Individual learning plans (ILPs) must record short- and long-term targets for each learner. Progress towards the targets must be capable of being measured and assessed. Consistency with the prison sentence plan is also a vital part of planning and writing the ILP. The aim should be to produce a holistic approach to each learner’s education and training.

Good recording of individual learning goals is vital. This is particularly important for learners who are working on non-accredited training programmes where the achievement of milestones or learning goals indicate the individual ‘distance travelled’.

Where accredited qualifications are offered, very often a unit award that can be assessed at any time will enable learners to gain some credit and self-esteem quickly. In the best young offender institutions, individual learners are achieving as many as three or four units of accreditation each month.

Individual learning plans should make explicit reference to the level, knowledge and skills used in the national standards and the curricula. Learners should know and understand the purpose of their ILPs, especially if they are only able to access learning for a short period of time.

Attendance

Attendance can sometimes be erratic but learners who do attend regularly are often very motivated to progress and achieve. They should be encouraged to complete short comments on their ILPs on what they have learnt in a particular session and what they still need to do. This helps learners to have a better understanding of what they have achieved and also helps teachers measure individual progress.

Achievement

For learners with low literacy and numeracy skills, success can mean progression in small steps such as spelling a word or writing their own name. Long-term goals will mean progressing from Entry Level 1 to Entry Level 2 in literacy or numeracy or from Level 1 to Level 2 in key skills.

Stress to learners that working on literacy, numeracy and language will bring benefits for them in other learning opportunities at the institution. For example, GCSEs, work-based national vocational qualifications (NVQs) or other activities in the education department will all be more accessible to learners who have good literacy, numeracy and language skills.

Many learners have been able to practise their literacy and numeracy skills while working in areas such as waste management, catering, painting and decorating, bricklaying or on motor vehicles. In the female estate, a peer partnership project at one institution enables learners to support others to improve their literacy and numeracy skills.

Programme design

It is important to design learners’ programmes to fit their individual needs, interests and expected length of stay, although this last item can often be unpredictable. Session plans must be reviewed to evaluate learning outcomes and details of learners’ progression. Literacy and numeracy can be blended into other work tasks and competencies.

Learners can develop their skills for independent study by completing their ‘homework’ in their cells. Certificates issued to learners by awarding bodies (which carry the name of the centre rather than the prison) will help to raise the self-esteem and confidence of learners as they feel they are not stigmatised by presenting certificates bearing the name of the prison.

The transitory nature of the young offender population makes it even more important to ensure that accurate data is kept on retention and achievement. In practical terms this means collecting information on the number of offenders who have started on courses and have achieved individual learning goals and targets on non-accredited and accredited programmes.

In some institutions, there are named administrative staff and/or examinations staff who are responsible for collecting information on the progress of individuals from teaching staff. Teachers record and update information on ILPs and pass on all records of progress weekly to ensure all data is up to date.

Monitoring and review

Reviews should contain detailed information on learners’ progress on literacy, numeracy and language courses. Details will include:

• literacy, numeracy and language needs
• health and safety
• equal opportunities
• welfare and pastoral support
• attendance, behaviour and learners’ aspirations.

Outcomes must be recorded. They need to be linked to progress, achievement and welfare. Senior managers, such as heads of learning and skills, will monitor these outcomes to show the impact of the Skills for Life programme on learners.

Regular review and monitoring of learning goals with learners and other staff are crucial for success. Learners appreciate individual attention as for many it is the first time that anyone has shown enough interest to ask them what they want to achieve. Short-term and very focused targets will help them to achieve goals as well as benefiting other areas of their lives. Learners are then able to understand their targets and this raises their self-esteem and motivation to succeed.