Offender learning
Overview of Learning Provision for Young Offenders in Custody
- The Young Peoples Learning Agency (YPLA) is responsible for the delivery of learning and skills to offenders age 15 -17 held in English public sector prisons. This is managed by the YPLA's Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS)
- 13 contracts are in place in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). The service is being delivered by a wide range of learning providers. By the end of October the number of contracts will have reduced to 10 as the Youth Justice Board (YJB) has recently decommissioned 3 YOIs and handed them back to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).
- There are currently 2,431 places for children and young people in YOIs in England but this number will reduce to around 1,889 by 1st September 2010. Approximately 12,000 learners receive YPLA funded provision each academic year.
- The curriculum for young people in custody is guided by The Offender’s Learning Journey for Young People (OLJ). From Autumn 2010, it is planned that the OLJ will be replaced by a National Delivery Framework.
- Offenders serving sentences in the community should be able to access the wide range of mainstream learning provision that is available for others (both for those offenders moving from custody into the community and those given community sentences).
- OLASS providers are required to complete two sets of data returns, namely the monthly Young Offender Learning 1 (YOL1) and the five annual returns against the Individualised Learner Records (ILR). The 2010/11 ILR guidance and policy guidance notes for these returns can be found by following the hyperlinks. Revised ILR guidance for the single ILR returns in 2011/12 is also available.
