HMP Doncaster

Section 3. Purposeful activity
Overall effectiveness of learning and skills and work:
Achievements of prisoners engaged in learning and skills and work:
requires improvement
good
Quality of learning and skills and work provision, including the quality of teaching, training, learning
and assessment:
good
Personal development and behaviour
Leadership and management of learning and skills and work:
requires improvement
requires improvement
Management of learning and skills and work
3.5 Although the quality of learning and skills and work activities was good, poor leadership and
management resulted in activity places being underused and low attendance. Prison leaders
did not do enough to make sure that wing officers encouraged prisoners to attend their
allocated activity. Young adults in particular, many of who had low prior attainment in
education and poor attitudes to attendance in learning sessions, were allowed to remain on
the wing despite education managers’ considerable efforts to improve this. (See paragraph
3.2 and main recommendation S43.)
3.6 There was good education and vocational training provision from Novus (based in The
Manchester College Group). Novus’ self-assessment of education and vocational training was
accurate and clearly identified areas for improvement – such as the low success rates in
English functional skills at entry level – and set clear actions and targets. Observations of
learning sessions resulted in a range of staff training and support that helped improve quality.
However, self-assessment of training and work activities provided by the prison and other
partners was not sufficiently evaluative and did not result in clear priorities for improvement.
3.7 There was good partnership working between providers responsible for various aspects of
learning and skills and work. Plans for the education and vocational training provision made
good use of information from the National Careers Service and Nacro, the provider for the
community rehabilitation company (CRC) Sodexo. 11
3.8 Novus managers used performance data about their education and vocational training
provision well in evaluating its quality. They monitored the performance of most groups of
prisoners and took appropriate action to close any gaps. However, they were still not
collecting data to provide a sufficient overview of the performance of young adults compared
with adults. Data available to prison managers on prisoner allocations to activities,
attendance and achievement data required improvement to inform their judgements about
the delivery of learning and skills and work across the prison.
ages, including those in custody. For information on Ofsted’s inspection framework, please visit:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk.
11 Since May 2015 rehabilitation services, both in custody and after release, have been organised through CRCs, which are
responsible for work with medium- and low-risk offenders
46 HMP Doncaster