By James Simons-
Two “secure schools” will be opened for youth offenders in England and Wales to improve education within the youth justice system.
Justice Secretary Liz Truss will announce the scheme today before the system is published.
Both pilot schools are expected to focus on maths and English and provide apprenticeships. The idea is a positive one, although what really matters is whether the quality of the education will be high and whether available teaching to the youth offenders will be of a high enough standard.
Secure schools for teenage offenders give drop -outs a second chance to gain an education in jail instead of leaving them coming out worse than when they went in.
The scheme will cost £15 million including front line staff. Ms Truss said “Prisons rightly punish people who break the law, but they should also be a place where offenders are reformed.
“While young people are in custody we need to make sure they get the right education and training so they can lead law-abiding lives – and in turn make our streets and communities safer too.”
Truss is one hundred percent correct that the right level of education leads to more law-abiding lives because educated people generally have professional prospects as they identify their talents and recognise skills which will take them to their field of expertise.
Prison can actually be an ideal environment for some of these rebels to actually gain an education, if they are compelled to learn, tested, acknowledged and rewarded for excelling.
Offenders From Deprived Backgrounds
Youth offenders who end up in prison come from deprived backgrounds, live in poor areas, and lack a male role model figure, instead unconsciously selecting role models from the streets.
When youth offenders come together and are made to learn together, they may feel less disadvantaged compared with a school situation in which some of them are sharing classrooms with students from different backgrounds and a far removed life experience from theirs.
Launch
Former head teacher and child behavioral expert, Charlie Taylor, a former head teacher is due to publish his full report on Monday.
An interim report he launched in February this year, called for a “fundamental change” to the system and raised the possibility of secure schools, set up in a similar way to free schools in England.
Taylor also found that young people already in the system were only receiving 17 hours of education a week – instead of an expected level of 30 hours.
Mr Taylor welcomed Sunday’s announcement from the justice secretary, saying:
“Education needs to be central to our response to youth offending,” he added. “It is the building block on which a life free from crime can be constructed.
“If children who offend are to become successful and law-abiding adults, the focus must be on improving their welfare, health and education – their life prospects – rather than simply imposing punishment”.
Earning Or Learning
The Ministry of Justice has expressed an interest in seeing all young people “earning or learning” when released.
Also, government plans in collaboration with businesses to build relationships with the youth offenders and offer them mentors to stop offenders “returning to a path of crime” after release is commendable.
Each school will also be measured to monitor their progress, and a head of operations post will be established to focus on “tackling violence, driving up performance levels and taking decisive action in the event of failures or falling standards”, Mr. Taylor added.