Jon Collins
@jonbcollins.bsky.social
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📥 646
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Chief Executive of Prisoners’ Education Trust (
@prisonersed.bsky
.social) and criminal justice nerd.
I love this series of profiles of independent landlords in London by
@andrewkersley.bsky.social
and
@petercarlyon.bsky.social
for
@londonermag.bsky.social
. It's just nice to have some positive news at the moment!
www.the-londoner.co.uk/londons-youn...
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London’s pubs are in crisis. Can a new generation of landlords save them?
‘I don’t think anyone has woken up and said it’s my dream to be the district manager of a Wetherspoons in Woking’
https://www.the-londoner.co.uk/londons-youngest-pub-landlords/
4 days ago
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In this interview focused on a visit to HMP Styal, the prisons minister Lord Timpson rightly notes that education helps people get a job. But education at Styal has just been cut by 30%. Given the cost of reoffending this is the very definition of a false economy.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
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James Timpson: ‘I can see the positive in people where ot...
On a stroll around Styal jail in Cheshire, the prisons minister discusses jobs for ex-offenders, support for women inmates and why he has no political ambitions
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/james-timpson-i-can-see-the-positive-in-people-where-others-maybe-cant
7 days ago
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reposted by
Jon Collins
FE Week
19 days ago
📋 Eight prisons in the West Midlands have finally been appointed an education supplier after an initial failed procurement process.
https://feweek.co.uk/novus-selected-again-to-deliver-west-midlands-prison-education/
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Novus selected again to deliver West Midlands prison education
The training provider has retained eight prisons in the region following a tender re-run
https://feweek.co.uk/novus-selected-again-to-deliver-west-midlands-prison-education/
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Congratulations (belatedly) to Dr Leonie Smith and Dr
@jonbebb.bsky.social
on winning the
@thebpa.bsky.social
's inaugural prize for 'Teaching Philosophy in the Community' for their work teaching philosophy in prison. It's good to see this sort of work being recognised.
bpa.ac.uk/prizes2026/
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BPA Prizes 2026 - British Philosophical Association
The British Philosophical Association is delighted to celebrate the inaugural recipients of our new BPA Prizes. These awards were established to recognise and promote the outstanding breadth, depth, a...
https://bpa.ac.uk/prizes2026/
20 days ago
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Well done to HMP Portland for getting 'good' from Ofsted for their education provision in today's
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social
report. As the report notes, this is "a creditable outcome when compared to almost all other closed prisons for men".
hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...
20 days ago
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Depressing but unsurprising to see this in today's
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social
report on HMP Manchester. Prisons are having to adapt to big cuts in provision and it'd be impossible to absorb a 54% cut without it having a significant impact.
hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...
26 days ago
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Concerning analysis from Inside Time, looking at the impact of cuts to prison education provision on the women's estate.
insidetime.org/newsround/ex...
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Exclusive: Women bear the brunt of prison education cuts
Women in prison will bear the brunt of cuts in education provision, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice. Data covering 94 prisons in England and Wales show that the number of teaching…
https://insidetime.org/newsround/exclusive-women-bear-the-brunt-of-prison-education-cuts/
about 1 month ago
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Good to see
@feweek.bsky.social
's Anviksha Patel digging into the data on cuts to prison education provision published earlier this week. Last year, North Sea Camp had 92% attendance at education, the third highest of any prison. Now its education provision has been cut by 58%.
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about 1 month ago
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My colleague
@themarkages.bsky.social
has written this excellent explainer examining new data from the Ministry of Justice revealing 25% cuts to prison education provision. Prison education had been slowly improving. It's very hard to see how that'll be sustained in the face of these cuts.
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about 1 month ago
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This
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social
report highlights some great practice but also too many people not getting regular access to exercise. Given how much time people in prison spend in their cells, this is really important to address.
hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/too-few...
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Too few prisoners benefitting from exercise and sport – HM Inspectorate of Prisons
https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/too-few-prisoners-benefitting-from-exercise-and-sport/
about 1 month ago
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Concerning to see this in today's
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social
review of progress at HMP Elmley. Prisons are working hard to make improvements but where provision has been cut under new contracts it'll make sustaining improvements much harder.
hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...
about 1 month ago
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This is really sad and upsetting, but still very much worth reading.
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about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Jon Collins
Prisoners' Education Trust
2 months ago
It’s great to see
University and College Union (UCU)
publishing two reports exploring the experiences of prison teachers generally and prison teachers from minority ethnic groups specifically. We don’t know enough about prison teachers. This research helps to fill that gap. Read the reports here ⬇️
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UCU publications
Key UCU reports and publications.
https://ow.ly/9iNq50Yq3vI
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No registration fee *and* you get a very stylish bright orange t-shirt. And we come and cheer you on and wave tiny flags created by
@frey-a.bsky.social
!
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2 months ago
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When I worked at the Restorative Justice Council I was fortunate enough to meet Nick Dawson and hear about his experiences of restorative justice. This is well worth reading for anyone interested in why he took part in it and how he benefitted.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03...
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/02/man-murdered-my-identical-twin/
2 months ago
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Congratulations to
@leedsbeckett.bsky.social
, who have won a Queen Elizabeth Prize for Education for their work in partnership with HMP Full Sutton.
www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/news/2026/02...
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Leeds Beckett University receives Queen Elizabeth Prize for Education for pioneering prison learning partnership | Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University receives Queen Elizabeth Prize for Education for pioneering prison learning partnership
https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/news/2026/02/queen-elizabeth-prize-awarded/
2 months ago
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More positive* news from
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social
today on the women's estate, with real progress being made on some of the worst elements of last year's thematic. (* yes, it's not all great and there's still lots to be done but it's progress and there's not been too much of that recently.)
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2 months ago
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Most
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social
reports make for depressing reading so worth noting today's positive one on Low Newton. 'Good' for education and nice to see that women are "motivated by teachers’ warm encouragement and positive feedback".
hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...
2 months ago
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reposted by
Jon Collins
Prisoners' Education Trust
3 months ago
We’re looking for passionate people with lived experience of prison education to join our Alumni Advisory Group - to help shape our strategy, strengthen our policy work, and keep learners at the centre of everything we do. Find out how to join here:
https://ow.ly/UkbN50YibZa
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"What I saw during my session was inspirational. It was a reminder that books can be a gateway to a different life for all of us" Really positive reflections from poet and novelist
@timrelf.bsky.social
on a session he ran in a prison library.
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3 months ago
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reposted by
Jon Collins
FE Week
3 months ago
Due to a focus on reading by the prison inspectorate and Ofsted, progress is being made on literacy in prisons. But new education contracts have now cut education provision across the board
@jonbcollins.bsky.social
@prisonersed.bsky.social
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https://feweek.co.uk/its-madness-to-cut-jail-education-as-signs-of-improvement-emerge/
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reposted by
Jon Collins
Prisoners' Education Trust
3 months ago
Our CEO,
Jon Collins
, has written for
FE Week
on why we should be building on the positive signs of progress in prison education, not cutting courses and making staff redundant.
https://ow.ly/QL5G50Y8Klm
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It’s madness to cut jail education as signs of improvement emerge
Literacy programmes in prisons were just beginning to bear fruit, so how can reductions imposed by new teaching contracts make sense
https://ow.ly/QL5G50Y8Klm
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According to an article in the Guardian today, the
@readingagency.bsky.social
is planning to distribute half a million of their 'Quick Reads' books to prisons in the UK this year.
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...
3 months ago
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This article is a demonstration of the benefits of diverting young people away from from the justice system. Would anyone be any better off if Sajid Javid and his brother had been charged and funnelled into, rather than away from, the justice system?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
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‘It could be a shoe or a stick’: Sajid Javid on being beaten by his father, petty crime – and turning his life around
As a young teenager, Javid and his brother were caught stealing from slot machines, arrested and held in a cell. His future hung in the balance. How did he get from there to the top of UK politics?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/27/sajid-javid-on-being-beaten-by-father-and-turning-life-around
3 months ago
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reposted by
Jon Collins
Prisoners' Education Trust
4 months ago
It's the
UNESCO
International Day of Education. In just a few words, Vanessa - who started a counselling course with PET last year - shows why education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility.
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Probably a good time to reshare 'Getting Connected', our recent
@prisonersed.bsky.social
briefing on digital learning in prisons.
prisonerseducation.org.uk/2025/12/gett...
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4 months ago
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reposted by
Jon Collins
Prisoners' Education Trust
4 months ago
We always love getting postcards from learners letting us know how they're getting on with their course. Barry is taking his Bookkeeping Certificate with PET - the start of his journey to becoming a freelance accountant.
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"We must properly fund prison education. Some institutions face cuts of up to 60% in their education provision. That’s not just short-sighted, it’s self-defeating." Very good article on the importance of literacy and prison education by
@pauldaviesmp.bsky.social
.
politicsuk.com/literacy-beh...
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Literacy Behind Bars: a Silent Crisis We Can’t Ignore - P...
More than half of people in UK prisons cannot read beyond primary-school level. Writing exclusively for Chamber UK, Paul Davies says that until we treat literacy as central to sentencing reform, rehab...
https://politicsuk.com/literacy-behind-bars-a-silent-crisis-we-cant-ignore/
4 months ago
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Good to see the author Lee Child promoting the importance of literacy work in prisons, and the work he’s doing with the MP Paul Davies.
www.thetimes.com/uk/get-brita...
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Lee Child: Books let me escape my dull, grey Sixties childhood
The Jack Reacher author, who is leading a drive to cut reoffending by raising literacy in jails, reveals the stories that gave him a world of adventure
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/get-britain-reading/article/lee-child-author-prison-literacy-interview-x6nb88890?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqe9aTKLQYHNK112K1VwsSSCDOdto3Lm13yNp_Y18TSTF_GkNxWxmuoTSXZmFmk%3D&gaa_ts=696cd39f&gaa_sig=BKRM2F6ecGEweXTZzdMt66wZGAKtTufh5p3e971wbD_mf1tf0zd_r7qYlOqkUQxfyiW6D6Mv6RsFjvTpdp3Xfw%3D%3D
4 months ago
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Good to see this
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social
follow-up report on reading in prisons. It's a really important issue where I think pressure from HMIP, Ofsted and others is beginning to make a difference.
hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...
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Reading for rehabilitation – HM Inspectorate of Prisons
https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/reading-for-rehabilitation/
4 months ago
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I’m really looking forward to this new BBC1 TV drama on teaching philosophy in prison, based on Andy West’s brilliant book ‘The Life Inside’.
insidetime.org/comment/wait...
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Waiting for the Out: a prison drama that tackles life’s big questions
A new Saturday night prison drama on BBC1, called Waiting for the Out, focuses on Dan, who begins teaching Philosophy classes in a men’s jail. Each week he leads discussions about dominance, freedo…
https://insidetime.org/comment/waiting-for-the-out-a-prison-drama-that-tackles-lifes-big-questions/
4 months ago
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Good to see the
@i-m-b.bsky.social
highlighting the impact that cuts to prison education budgets are having. Lots of really worrying examples in their letter, including cuts to vocational training and support for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities.
imb.org.uk/news/concern...
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Concerns raised over cuts to real-term prison education budgets - Independent Monitoring Boards
Photo by Andy Aitchison Elisabeth Davies, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) National Chair, has today written to the Prisons Minister,
https://imb.org.uk/news/concerns-raised-over-cuts-to-real-term-prison-education-budgets/
4 months ago
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This is a positive initiative by
@pauldavieswxm.bsky.social
and the author Lee Child to promote literacy in prisons. I also really like this quote from Lee Child, "Ideally, what we wanted to do was make everybody’s day a little bit easier in the prison world".
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
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Thrillers should be on UK school curriculum to boost reading, says Lee Child
Bestselling author says focus on ‘masterpieces’ puts children off as he promotes prison literacy scheme
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/dec/19/lee-child-thrillers-uk-school-curriculum-literacy
5 months ago
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This is a really good blog by my colleague
@cassieedmiston.bsky.social
on our new briefing on access to digital devices and the internet in prison, highlighting the progress made but also the ongoing digital divide between what's available in prison and in the community.
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5 months ago
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reposted by
Jon Collins
Prisoners' Education Trust
5 months ago
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported our
Big Give
#ChristmasChallenge - we've raised a record £46,819 so far! The appeal is open until midday tomorrow - every donation means more people in prison can gain qualifications and build towards a brighter future:
https://bit.ly/PET-BigGive-2
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We have reached our
@biggive.bsky.social
target!! A huge, huge thank you to the 115 people who have donated. We are very grateful for your support.
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5 months ago
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Like every other charity on Bluesky, we're taking part in the Big Give. So if you'd like to support PET's work now's the time as any donations between now and midday on Tuesday will be *DOUBLED*.
bit.ly/PET-BigGive-3
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5 months ago
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It's always great to see positive coverage of work that prisons are doing, like this farm in East Sutton Park. One person said, for example, that "Farming, to me, is really special. I found it to be a brilliant escape from everything I've ever known".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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Maidstone prison teaches inmates to run farm on site - BBC News
The farm holds cattle, sheep and pigs – some of which are named after prison officers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy9547e537yo.amp
6 months ago
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No surprises here, sadly. YOIs are really, really struggling to provide a regime that gets young people out of their cells. It’s time for a complete reset of youth custody that puts education first, to give young people opportunities to develop the skills they’ll need to thrive as adults.
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6 months ago
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I really enjoyed this discussion with Charlie Taylor of
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social
and Cathy McGuinness, even if the general tone was quite downbeat. Education in prison can make such a difference, which is why it's so important to get it right.
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6 months ago
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It’s always good to see more employers committed to employing prison leavers. But it’s also vital to get prison education working properly, so people in prison can get the skills and qualifications that employers need.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
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Crime-cutting jobs plan sees hundreds of firms join hiring drive
Britain’s biggest businesses have joined the Government’s hiring drive to get prison leavers into work in effort to cut crime as part of the Plan for Change.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/crime-cutting-jobs-plan-sees-hundreds-of-firms-join-hiring-drive?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=bb0b5e65-c40f-4ad6-beec-0cea80f35631&utm_content=immediately
6 months ago
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Predictably critical report out today from the Justice Select Committee on rehabilitation in prisons. But good to see the committee call for the government to "publish a clear plan to improve both participation and quality in prison education".
committees.parliament.uk/committee/10...
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‘Dire’ prison conditions putting rehabilitation and reoffending reduction ‘at risk’, Justice Committee warns - Committees - UK Parliament
Prison overcrowding, staffing shortages and deteriorating infrastructure is having a ‘profound impact on the ability of prisons to deliver rehabilitation’, a new report published today (No...
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/102/justice-committee/news/210443/dire-prison-conditions-putting-rehabilitation-and-reoffending-reduction-at-risk-justice-committee-warns/
6 months ago
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If this happens, I think just one PCC - Tim Passmore in Suffolk - will have been in the role for the entire 16 year period it will have existed. Katy Bourne has also held the role in Sussex since 2012, but it's due to be abolished there when a new mayor is elected in 2027.
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6 months ago
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This is one of the saddest things I've read for a long time but it's also beautifully written and important.
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...
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When I met Craig he was 13 and homeless. I still thought his life might turn around. I was tragically wrong
The long read: I knew he was running away from something. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered the truth
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/nov/11/when-i-met-craig-he-was-13-and-homeless-i-still-thought-his-life-might-turn-around-i-was-tragically-wrong
6 months ago
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This is a typically forthright assessment of the state of the prison system - which he describes as “close to breaking point” - by Charlie Taylor of
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social
in the Telegraph. And good to see cuts to education budgets highlighted.
www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
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Access Restricted
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/11/08/mistaken-releases-prisons-breaking-point-charlie-taylor/
6 months ago
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Well, this is bleak. Not wrong. But bleak.
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6 months ago
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Nice to read about something positive in the prison system - the work of
@libertychoiruk.bsky.social
!
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6 months ago
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Good to see this recommendation on increasing access to education and training in today’s Justice Select Committee report on drugs in prison.
committees.parliament.uk/committee/10...
6 months ago
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I'm looking forward to giving evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee on prison education in Wales this afternoon, with
@stgilestrust.bsky.social
and Estyn . Lots to cover, including funding, breadth of provision and digital learning.
www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/2557747...
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MPs to examine education and employment opportunities for Welsh prisoners
MPs are set to examine education and employment opportunities for Welsh prisoners at a meeting in the Palace of Westminster.
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/25577476.mps-examine-education-employment-welsh-prisoners/
6 months ago
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reposted by
Jon Collins
HMI Prisons
7 months ago
With the publication of the ‘Just passing time’ thematic review, Chief Inspector, Charlie Taylor, outlines the problems with current work and training provision in adult prisons and his concerns that cuts will make things worse. Read the blog:
hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/what-do...
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