Education, skills and work activities (Ofsted)

Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework (EIF) sets out the main criteria for judging the quality of education, skills and work. The following indicators describe evidence that may show this expectation being met, but do not exclude other ways of achieving it.

• Leaders and managers have selected and developed a curriculum that develops the knowledge, skills and behaviours (including English, mathematics and information and communication technology) that detainees need to take advantage of the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences that prepare them for their next stage in education, training or employment, whether military or civilian.
• It is clear what the curriculum is preparing detainees for and what detainees will need to be able to know and do, at the end of their learning or training programmes.
• Leaders, managers and teachers have planned and sequenced the curriculum so that detainees can build on previous teaching and learning and develop the new knowledge and skills they need.
• The curriculum takes into account the needs of detainees and offers them the knowledge and skills that reflect the needs of the relevant Armed Forces or national labour need.
• Teachers, trainers and instructors have expert knowledge of the subjects that they teach.
• Teachers, trainers and instructors enable detainees to understand key concepts, presenting information clearly and promoting discussion.
• Teachers, trainers and instructors check detainees’ understanding effectively, and identify and correct misunderstandings.
• Where trained peers are deployed as mentors they work closely with staff to provide focused individual guidance and help to detainees.
• The curriculum is sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what detainees know and can do, and detainees can work towards defined end points.
• Teachers, trainers and instructors use assessment to develop detainees’ understanding to extend and improve their skills beyond simply memorising disconnected facts. Assessment also checks detainees’ understanding to inform further teaching, training and instruction.
• The design and delivery of the curriculum and teaching, including the use of assessment, ensure detainees embed key concepts and knowledge to long-term memory and apply concepts and knowledge consistently and easily.
• Detainees’ military and employment-related skills are recognised and recorded.
• Community work or education placements are used to enhance detainees’ employment or training skills and prepare them for return to military duties or civilian life.
• Detainees make progress from their starting points, attaining skills, behaviour and, where appropriate, qualifications.
• Teachers, trainers and instructors are aware of and plan for individual detainees’ diverse needs in teaching, training and work sessions and provide effective support. All staff make reasonable adjustments for detainees with disabilities or with additional educational needs.
• Detainees with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) gain knowledge and skills and progress towards rehabilitation and to becoming more independent in their everyday life, and/or return to employment, as appropriate.
• Mandatory military assessments and external examinations are used as useful indicators of detainees’ outcomes, but it is recognised that they only represent a sample of what detainees learn.
• Learning takes account of detainees’ sentence and career plans.
• All learning builds towards an end point. Detainees are being prepared and are ready for their next stage of education, training or employment, in the establishment or on release, at each stage of their learning.
• Provision reduces reoffending and promotes military and employability skills so that detainees are well-prepared for the next stage of their education, employment, self-employment or training on release.

Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework (EIF) sets out the main criteria for judging the quality of education, skills and work. The following indicators describe evidence that may show this expectation being met, but do not exclude other ways of achieving it.

• Detainees feel safe and experience a calm and orderly environment in the establishment’s classrooms, work areas and relevant community placements.
• Staff and detainees do not accept bullying, harassment or discrimination.
• There are clear expectations for high standards of behaviour across education, skills and work activities.
• There is a strong focus on attendance and punctuality at education, skills and work areas.
• Staff deal with any concerns quickly, fairly and effectively.
• The establishment supports a culture in which staff know and care about detainees and prioritise their attendance at education, skills and work.
• Detainees take pride in their achievements and the work they complete.
• Detainees understand the importance of the skills maintained and learnt in the context of their next steps and sentence plans.

Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework (EIF) sets out the main criteria for judging the quality of education, skills and work. The following indicators describe evidence that may show this expectation being met, but do not exclude other ways of achieving it.

• Detainees are expected to behave as responsible and respectful individuals and are encouraged to become involved in the establishment and the wider community when in education or work placements.
• Detainees are helped to understand the values of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and mutual respect and tolerance while demonstrating a clear understanding of modern military ethics.
• Equality of opportunity, awareness of diversity and the need to tackle discrimination are promoted.
• The importance of an inclusive environment that meets the diverse needs of each detainee is promoted.
• Detainees are supported to reflect carefully, learn eagerly, behave with integrity and cooperate consistently well with others.
• Detainees are supported to develop their confidence, resilience and knowledge as ways to improve their mental well-being.
• Detainees are provided with an effective careers programme that offers advice, experience and contact with employers, where appropriate, to encourage them to make informed choices about their current learning and future career plan.
• Learning plans are effectively linked with and take account of detainees’ sentence plans.
• Detainees are supported to prepare for the next phase of education, training or employment on release.
• Detainees are effectively encouraged and supported to prepare and progress to suitable further education, training and employment on release, including through access to modern means of job search and job application, such as the internet.

Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework (EIF) sets out the main criteria for judging the quality of education, skills and work. The following indicators describe evidence that may show this expectation being met, but do not exclude other ways of achieving it.

• Leaders focus their attention on education, skills and work-related activities in a way which leads to better outcomes for detainees such as reducing reoffending.
• Leaders and staff, in and outside the chain of command, engage with detainees, their community and employers to plan and support the education and training that detainees receive.
• The establishment has sufficient education, skills and work provision for its population and appropriate learning opportunities are available.
• Allocation and attendance measures ensure detainees attend their activity on time with minimal interruptions.
• Continuing professional development for teachers, trainers, instructors and other staff is aligned with the curriculum, and this allows teachers to develop subject expertise and teaching/training knowledge over time, so that they deliver high-quality education and training.
• Detainees benefit from effective teaching/training and high expectations in classrooms, in workshops and at work.
• Leaders and managers consider the workload and well-being of their staff and improve the quality of the workforce to strengthen the quality of the provision.
• Senior leaders responsible for the establishment understand their respective roles and carry these out to enhance the effectiveness of the establishment.
• Leaders and managers have an accurate understanding of the establishment and their providers’ and subcontractors’ effectiveness and they use this information well to secure and maintain high quality provision.
• Leaders and managers monitor the progression and destinations of detainees (including whether detainees return to their military careers or enter other sustained employment).