LONCETT Prison Education Project

Improving ITT for Teachers in Prison and Offender Learning

Framed by LONCETT's objectives to expand access and improve recruitment and induction to initial teacher training (ITT), increase emphasis upon specialist pedagogies in ITT and continuing professional development (CPD), improve specialist mentoring and workplace support as well as foster and sustain teacher-education communities across London this project focuses on the needs of teachers within prisons in London. Led by City and Islington College the project draws on the experience of teachers, trainers and instructors in London prisons, OLASS providers, the probation service, FE colleges and community-based organisations such as charitable trusts and locally funded initiatives engaged in this area.

The aim of the project is to explore:

• how the isolation of trainee teachers within prisons can be reduced and replaced by a community of practice that cuts across the boundaries of inside /outside, learner/prisoner, teacher/prison staff, charitable trusts/FE/community and prison agencies;
• which pedagogic concerns are specific to ITT prison education concentrating on the emotional load that the learners bring and how the teacher can be equipped to deal with this as well as on the the primary identity of the learner being that of offender rather than learner;
• how strategies can be developed to address these concerns by way of customized ITT materials and innovative training paths.

With the first year of the project concluded both a preliminary project report on the research and its findings as well as a review of existing literature relevant to the project focus have been completed and are available to be downloaded via the links below.

The collaborative research of the second year of the LONCETT prison education project identified ways in which the Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) qualification might be contextualized to meet the different needs of three distinct groups teaching in a custodial context, which include: education department teachers, HMP officers working as PE instructors and HMP officers working as industries instructors. The second year report 'An exploration of initial teacher training needs for teachers and instructions in offender education in London' presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of the PTLLS qualification for professional who teach in London prisons. The report can be downloaded via the link below.

The project team contributed to the cross-CETT journal titled 'Teaching in Lifelong Learning: a journal to inform and improve practice' Volume 1, the article 'Conflicting demands in prison education and the need for context-specific, specialist training for prison educators: An account of the work of the Initial Teacher Training Project for Teachers and Instructors in London Prisons and Offender Learning' which can be downloaded via the icon below.