Research and analysis

Prison education in England: Educational background, characteristics, and criminogenic needs

Published 11 September 2025

Applies to England

1. Executive Summary

1.1 Introduction

Prison education plays a key role in the purposeful activity provided in prison. It helps to prepare people for work on release and evidence shows that prisoners who take any form of learning activity have a significantly lower reoffending rate on release from prison than their peers. This report looks at the participation and achievement in core prison education programmes of two populations of prison leavers in England.

The statistics have been produced to build evidence on who is engaging in prison education, in what ways, and how this relates to their educational background and other characteristics. Understanding who is participating in prison education is crucial to building an evidence base which can better support the provision of prison education shaped towards the needs of prisoners. Doing this ensures that budgets are used to their best effect, maximising value for money.

The main data source is the prison education management information system, CURIOUS, which has been linked to information from other administrative sources including probation services, the Offender Assessment System (OASys) and the MOJ-Department for Education (DfE) data share.

This work has been completed by the Ministry of Justice: Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD).

1.2 Methodology

This report examines the demographics, criminogenic and educational needs, as well as the educational background of participation and achievement in accredited prison education courses, for two offender cohorts:

Cohort 1: Adult offenders released from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, after serving sentences of at least 3 months in public prisons in England.

Cohort 2: Adult offenders aged 18 to 35 who were released from June 2019 to December 2020, after serving sentences in public prisons in England, and for whom DfE data has been linked to provide information on education experiences while in school.

1.3 Headline findings

Cohort 1:

• Of 16,810 adult offenders released from custody in 2024, having completed sentences of at least 3 months, over half (65%) had participated in at least one accredited education course whilst in prison. 56% of prison leavers successfully achieved at least one qualification.

• Levels of participation in prison education courses were higher for female (74%) than male prison leavers (65%) (although only 5% of prison leavers included were women).

• Of those with at least one criminogenic need recorded, 65% participated in education courses compared to 72% of those with no needs identified.

• The lowest participation in education courses is seen for those with an alcohol misuse need (62% of prison leavers); in contrast, the highest level of participation was observed for those with a drug misuse need (66%), as well as those with an employment need (66%).

• 55% of prison leavers recorded on OASys assessments as having significant difficulties in reading, writing or numeracy in education courses participated in education courses, compared with 66% of those recorded as having no difficulties in these areas.

• Upon release from custody, half (50%) of prison leavers who reported no prior qualifications had passed an accredited course: 18% of prison leavers had successfully achieved a functional skills qualification in English, 17% had achieved a functional skills qualification in maths and 36% had achieved a vocational qualification.

• When considering offenders leaving prison after serving less than 3 months in custody as a comparison, only 16% achieved any accredited course, less than half the rate or those serving 3 to 6 months (35%) and compared to almost three quarters (73%) of those leaving prison after 2 or more years.

Cohort 2:

• 9% of prison leavers matched to NPD records at the end of key stage 4 (year 11) had achieved 5 or more GCSEs or equivalent qualifications at grades A*-C (or 9-4 in newer qualifications) and 2% had achieved 2 or more A levels when aged 16 to 18. In contrast, 18% had not achieved any passes at key stage 4.

• Six in ten (60%) of those who had not achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSEs or equivalent qualifications participated in an accredited education course while in prison, higher than the participation rate for those holding these prior qualifications (53%).

• Four in ten (42%) of prison leavers with no passes at key stage 4 left prison with a pass in at least one accredited qualification. The most common level to achieve in functional skills English and maths were entry level qualifications.^{[footnote 1]}

• A large majority (78%) of prison leavers matched to NPD records had special educational needs (SEN) identified while attending school. A higher proportion of prison leavers who had SEN recorded while in school participated in functional skills maths and English courses in prison (18% and 19% respectively) than those with no recorded needs (14% and 15% respectively).

• Six in ten (62%) of prison leavers who were ever severely absent from school (for more than 50% of sessions in a year) participated in education in prison and 43% of those severely absent from school achieved at least one course.

• 43% of prison leavers who had been permanently excluded from school achieved at least one course in prison.

• Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) were ever eligible for free school meals (FSM) in the years captured in the data (meaning their household received certain qualifying out-of-work benefits) and over 9 in 10 (93%) had lived in the most deprived 20% of areas based on the proportion of families claiming low-income related benefits (Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index, IDACI).

This report presents descriptive statistics only. It looks at patterns of participation in prison education across different groups and settings, without making causal claims or conducting inferential statistical testing.

2. Introduction

2.1 Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD)

BOLD is a cross-government programme led by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) which aims to show how people with complex needs can be better supported by linking and improving the government data held on them in a safe and secure way.

You can find more information about the BOLD programme on GOV.UK at Ministry of Justice: Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD).

This publication has been produced as part of the Education, Skills and Work (ESW) project within the BOLD programme’s Reducing Reoffending workstream. The project aims to build the evidence base of ‘what works’ to improve outcomes for those leaving prison, by understanding the role of prison education.

2.2 Background

There is a statutory duty to provide prison education in England. In 2016, responsibility for most prison education in England moved from the DfE to the MOJ. Decision-making is led by prison governors who, since 2019, have been able to commission appropriate education for individual prisons. Learning and skills provision in Welsh prisons has been devolved to the Welsh Government since 2009.

Previous analysis from MOJ and DfE using a matched comparison group showed that prisoners who take any form of learning activity have a significantly lower reoffending rate on release from prison (34%) compared with non-learners (43%).^{[footnote 2]}  However, there is currently a lack of evidence on who is engaging in prison education, in what ways, and how this relates to their educational background and other characteristics. Understanding who is participating in prison education is therefore crucial to building an evidence base which can support the provision of prison education shaped towards the needs of prisoners. Doing this ensures that budgets are used to their best effect, maximising value for money.

The Coates Review (2016)^{[footnote 3]} identified the importance of data driven evidence: it is essential to inform decisions on the right curriculum for different prison populations and cohorts, ensuring prisoners are in the right education for their learning needs and employment goals. The Education Select Committee (2023) also recommended greater information sharing between education, health and justice to support offenders with learning difficulties or disability needs.^{[footnote 4]}

The statistics presented in this report represent the first time that data from CURIOUS (the operational database for capturing enrolment in courses and learner outcomes under the Prison Education Framework, PEF) has been linked to prison, probation and school education data to gain a better understanding of who engages in prison education. Not all forms of education within prisons in England are covered in this analysis (for example distance learning, training commissioned locally by individual prisons, or learning attended through release on temporary licence). It focuses on accredited courses (that lead to recognised qualifications) delivered through the PEF from 2019 to 2024.  This is made up of a core common curriculum of maths, English, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) as well as other vocational courses across a range of sectors. A new Prisoner Education Service (PES)^{[footnote 5]} has begun operating from April 2025 which will transform the funding, delivery and recording of education as it rolls out.

3. Methodology

3.1 Prison leavers in scope

This analysis considers two prison leaver cohorts, as follows:

• Cohort 1: Adult offenders released after serving sentences of at least 3 months in public prisons in England, with a release date between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024.

• Cohort 2: A cohort of adult offenders aged 18 to 35 for whom Department for Education (DfE) data has been linked to provide information on education experiences while in school, with a release date from June 2019 to December 2020.

Information for both cohorts relate to prison leavers: 

• who were released in the time period and were subsequently under the supervision of the probation service;

• who were aged 18 or over at their release date;

• who were previously held in public (directly managed by HMPPS) adult prisons in England for all of their sentence (or released from these prisons in cohort 2);

• who had been in prison custody for at least 3 months before their release (to allow time for participation in courses).^{[footnote 6]} Time spent on remand is included as part of total time in custody.

This analysis does not include information about education of youth offenders or within Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), Secure Training Centres and Secure Children’s Homes; education in establishments in Wales or in prisons managed by private sector companies through contracts to HMPPS, as they do not consistently record education in the same way.

Additionally, information for cohort 2 relates to prison leavers: 

• who were aged 18 to 35;

• who attended state-funded schools in England since 2002

• who have been successfully matched to Department for Education data

The accompanying technical guide provides further details on how and why prisoners and periods in custody were selected.

3.2 Data sources

The analysis in this report is based on the linking of administrative data across the data sources shown in table 1.

Table 1: Data sources used in this publication

Data source	Description
CURIOUS	Management information system recording course registrations and learner outcomes for core prison education courses
Offender Assessment System (OASys) Layer 3 assessments	Assessments of risks and needs of offenders in custody or under supervision in the community
National Delius (nDelius)	Probation service operational case management system
Prison National Offender Management Information System (p-NOMIS)	Prison operational case management system
MOJ-Department for Education (DfE) data share	Data share linking records about education from the National Pupil Database to information about criminal histories from the Police National Computer
Police National Computer (PNC)	used by police to monitor recordable offences, those convicted or cautioned for them, and the outcomes received
National Pupil Database (NPD)	records information about education, attainment and background characteristics for pupils in schools in England

For further information about the data sources used and their processing, refer to the accompanying technical guide.

3.3 Education participation and achievement

Core prison education courses linked to an offender’s prison record are included, provided that they are:

• recorded on the CURIOUS system (since its introduction in 2019)

• registered within the period in custody relating to their latest release date in the period (including during a period on remand that preceded their conviction).

• are accredited education courses that can be matched to the Learning Aim Reference Service (LARS). Most accredited courses are regulated by The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and lead to recognised standalone qualifications (such as functional skills certificates and awards).

The technical guide provides further information about the prison education breakdowns shown.

3.4 Limitations and caveats

There are limitations and caveats that need to be considered when interpreting the findings in this report:

• This report presents descriptive statistics only. It looks at patterns of participation in prison education across different groups, without making causal claims or conducting inferential statistical testing. While comparisons are made between groups, these are intended to highlight observed differences rather than to imply statistical significance or effect size.

• The statistics do not cover all prisoners; all prison establishments; or all prison education activities. For example, young offenders, those released from short sentences under 3 months or held on remand only, and those held in Welsh or private prisons during their sentence are excluded. This means that fewer prison leavers are included than when looking at all releases over the time period. Education courses that are commissioned locally by prison governors or are unaccredited, as well as distance learning, or learning attended through release on temporary licence are not included.

• The statistics in this report are based on two cohorts of offenders over two specific reporting periods and for whom data has been able to be matched; as such, the findings from this analysis may not reflect groups of offenders at other points in time, nor the full offender population.

• These statistics describe which groups of prisoners participated in education courses during the period considered but do not attempt to explain the reasons for this. Both the opportunity and motivation to participate in education may affect the findings.

• The Covid-19 pandemic caused widespread disruption in the delivery of prison education, which may have affected the participation recorded in these statistics. This affects prisoners serving longer sentences, and cohort 2, of whom a large proportion would have been completing education courses during 2020.

• The findings in this report are not directly comparable to other published statistics due to differences in the timing and definition of the offender population and education courses included in the analysis. These statistics focus on courses undertaken by the two cohorts throughout their time in custody rather than on the volume of courses delivered in a certain period.

The accompanying technical guide provides further details on the limitations and caveats and comparison with other publications.

4. Participation in prison education

Of the 16,810 adult prison leavers in cohort 1, almost two thirds (65%) had participated in at least one accredited education course during their time in custody. Over half of the cohort (56%) had successfully achieved at least one qualification.

Table 2 presents the breakdown by course type. Results show that around a quarter (24%) enrolled in each of functional skills English and maths courses, whilst just over half (52%) participated in a vocational course.

Additionally, 38% of prison leavers participated in unaccredited courses, including 9% of prison leavers who recorded participation only in this form of provision, demonstrating the reach of some of the broader educational activity in prisons. These courses are not included in statistics in the following sections.

Table 2: Participation and achievement by course type

Course type	Percentage participating	Percentage achieving
Any accredited course	65%	56%
English	24%	16%
Mathematics	24%	17%
Vocational courses	52%	45%
ICT	6%	4%
ESOL	1%	1%

4.1 Participation by offender characteristics

Levels of participation in any accredited prison education courses were higher for female (74%) than male prison leavers (65%). A higher proportion of female offenders had participated in Core Common Curriculum courses in English (37%), maths (37%) and ICT (15%) compared to male prison leavers (24%, 23% and 5%) respectively (Figure 1). However, similar proportions of female and male prison leavers had participated in vocational courses (56% and 52% respectively).

The vast majority of prison leavers completing sentences of over three months (95%) were male, which means patterns for men were very similar to those for all prisoners. Breakdowns by other prisoner characteristics are likely to reflect patterns for men from these groups if there are differences by sex.

Figure 1: Percentage of prison leavers that had participated in prison education courses by sex

The highest participation in prison education was seen for prison leavers in the 25-29 age range (69%), followed by prison leavers aged 30-39 (68%) as shown in Figure 2. Older adult prisoners engaged less in education, with 45% of those aged 60 or over upon release having participated in at least one accredited course, lower than any other age group.

Figure 2: Percentage of prison leavers that had participated in prison education courses by age group

Compared to the general prison leaver population, larger proportions of those from Asian (72%), Black (70%) and Mixed ethnic groups (69%) participated in education, as shown in figure 3. This was driven by higher participation in vocational courses, begun by 63% of Asian, 59% of Black and 57% of Mixed Ethnic Group prison leavers, compared with 50% of White offenders and 47% from other Ethnic Groups.

Figure 3: Percentage of prison leavers that had participated in prison education courses by major ethnic group

4.2 Education participation by criminogenic needs

Eight criminogenic needs linked to offending behaviour are assessed using OASys: Accommodation, Employability, Relationships, Lifestyle, Drug misuse, Alcohol misuse, Thinking & Behaviour, and Attitudes. These are dynamic risk factors that are considered to increase the risk of an individual re-offending, but which can change over time and in response to rehabilitation interventions. In this section figures are reported as a percentage of those with a matched OASys assessment.^{[footnote 7]}

Of those with at least one criminogenic need recorded, 65% participated in education courses compared to 72% with no needs identified. Figure 4 shows that the lowest participation in education courses is seen for those with an alcohol misuse need (62% of prison leavers); in contrast, the highest level of participation was observed for those with a drug misuse need (66%), as well as those with an employment need (66%).

Figure 4: Percentage of prison leavers that had participated in prison education courses by criminogenic need

Across assessments of needs, the largest difference in participation between those with and without a criminogenic need is seen between those who had needs in relation to thinking and behaviour, attitudes, and relationships and those who did not (6 percentage points). Similar proportions of individuals with and without a recorded Employment need participated in prison education (65% and 66% respectively).

There were differences in the level^{[footnote 8]} of courses undertaken by those with and without criminogenic needs. Figure 5 shows that for each criminogenic need category, a higher proportion of those considered to have the need (and who achieved an English qualification) did so at entry level, and a lower proportion did so at either level 1 or 2.

Figure 5: Level of course achieved in English by criminogenic need

Lower levels of prison education participation were observed amongst prison leavers with multiple needs, as shown in figure 6. This was driven largely by lower levels of engagement in vocational courses. For example, 46% of those identified as having all 8 needs participated in vocational courses, compared with 60% of those with no identified criminogenic needs.

Figure 6: Percentage of prison leavers that had participated in prison education courses by number of criminogenic needs

4.3 Participation by educational need

OASys assessments also provide information about offenders’ educational experiences, skills and needs captured at a point in time close to their entry to prison custody and independent from their engagement with prison education services. In this section, figures are reported as a percentage of those with a matched layer 3 assessment and a valid response for the question.^{[footnote 9]}

Almost a quarter of prisoners (23%) were recorded on their OASys assessment as having some or significant difficulties with either reading, writing or numeracy (question 4.7). Fewer prison leavers (7%) identified numeracy as a problem area compared with reading or writing (13% and 14% respectively).

Of respondents recorded as having significant difficulties in reading, writing or numeracy:

• 55% participated in education courses overall, compared with 66% of those recorded as having no difficulties in these areas.

• 34% took part in vocational courses, compared to 55% of those with no difficulties in these areas.

• 28% and 25% participated in English and maths courses, representing similar levels of participation in those courses compared to those with no difficulties in literacy and numeracy (23% for both English and maths).

As shown in figure 7, the level of courses undertaken varied considerably, with 4 out of 5 (81%) who achieved English qualifications doing so at entry level, compared to just over a third (37%) of those recorded as having no problems in literacy and numeracy.

Figure 7: Level achieved in English courses by reading, writing and numeracy

29% of prison leavers reported having no formal qualifications at the start of their sentence (question 4.9). For context, the rate was 12% for the England population aged 16-64 in 2021.^{[footnote 10]} Whilst 61% of this group participated in education while in prison, this was lower than for those already possessing formal qualifications (67%).

Upon release from custody, half (50%) of prison leavers who reported no prior qualifications had passed an accredited course: 18% had successfully achieved a functional skills qualification in English, 17% had achieved a functional skills qualification in maths and 36% had achieved a vocational qualification.

Other questions asked in the OASys assessment indicate that many of the cohort had prior issues engaging with education. Over half (52%) reported issues with school attendance (question 4.6), while a third (33%) were recorded as having attitude issues with regards to education/training (question 4.10). Additionally, 39% were recorded as having attitude issues with regards to employment (question 4.5).

Additionally, a combination of OASys questions is used to screen for learning disabilities and challenges. This screening tool has been developed by HMPPS to identify those who may benefit from specialised assessment and support while in prison. It is not a diagnostic tool, and it is not expected that it perfectly identifies the group of prisoners who would be clinically considered to have a learning disability. HMPPS has published research behind the development of the tool^{[footnote 11]}.

64% identified by this tool as “may have a learning disability and/or learning challenges” participated in prison education overall, compared to 59% of those identified as “may have some learning challenges” and 67% of those who were identified as not having a learning difficulty.

A higher proportion of prison leavers who were identified by the tool participated in and achieved entry level courses compared to all prison leavers. For example, of those who “may have a learning disability and/or learning challenges” and achieved English qualifications, 71% did so at entry level and only 7% did so at level 2, compared to 44% and 23% of the whole cohort.

4.4 Participation by sentence length

As outlined in the Methodology section, cohort 1 excludes offenders released from prison after having served sentences of less than 3 months. This is to limit the influence of those completing very short sentences on comparisons between other groups. Participation in prison education shows a very strong relationship with sentence length, with higher levels of engagement as sentence length increases.

For cohort 1 the average (mean) length of time taken to complete any accredited course was 4.4 weeks, 5.6 weeks for functional skills maths courses, and 6.3 weeks for English courses. There was considerable variation in how long learners took to complete courses, with a standard deviation of nearly 5 weeks for each. The guided learning hours (teaching or contact time) suggested for functional skills courses by Ofqual are between 30 and 55 hours^{[footnote 12]} limiting the speed at which material can be effectively delivered within the constraints of the prison schedule. The guided learning hours for vocational courses vary widely.

This section provides a breakdown of prison education participation by sentence length served in custody, including the additional 9,773 adult prison leavers released from sentences after less than 3 months in 2024 to highlight this point.

As shown in figure 8, the majority (82%) of those having completed sentences of 2 or more years participated in at least one accredited course, while only 23% of those completing a sentence of less than 3 months participated in prison education.

Figure 8: Percentage of prison leavers that had participated in prison education courses by custodial sentence length served

Only 16% of offenders leaving prison after a sentence of less than 3 months achieved a course, less than half the rate or those serving 3 to 6 months (35%) and compared to almost three quarters (73%) of those leaving prison after 2 or more years. This perhaps reflects a reduced opportunity to complete the necessary coursework or assessments.

Table 3: Participation and achievement by served custodial sentence length

Sentence length	Number of prison leavers	Percentage participating in any accredited course (%)	Percentage achieving any accredited course (%)
Less than 3 months	9,773	23%	16%
3 to less than 6 months	3281	45%	35%
6 to less than 12 months	4887	59%	50%
1 to less than 2 years	4,805	73%	62%
2 years or more	3,837	82%	73%

5. Participation in prison education by educational background

Findings in this section relate to cohort 2, which is made up of 18,725 prison leavers released in 2019/20; their details were matched to National Pupil Database (NPD) data relating to their education and background from their time in school in England. Individuals within this cohort were aged 18 to 35 at their time of release from adult public prisons in England and had served at least 3 months in custody.

A range of indicators available from NPD datasets across the timeframe in which individuals attended school have been calculated. This uses data from academic years 2001/02 to 2019/20 (although the number of years captured for individuals varies). In most cases measures reflect whether a learner was ever recorded as meeting a definition, regardless of the number of years in which the learner appeared in the NPD.

5.1 Note on comparisons and interpretation

Data was not available for all pupils recorded on the NPD in these years to calculate comparators using the same methodology. Information is therefore included from relevant published national measures, to provide users with additional context for the educational background of the prison population. Caution should be taken with direct comparisons as the methodology may not match exactly.

It is also important to note that, although a large percentage of those released from prison might share certain educational experiences or background, only a small minority of the population ever serve a custodial sentence, and most people with the experiences or characteristics discussed will not have spent any time in prison.

The current statistics only report descriptive findings about the educational needs and experiences of prison leavers and their education while in prison. This does not imply that these factors are causally related either to receiving a custodial sentence, or to subsequent participation in prison education programmes.

5.2 Prior educational qualifications

Overall, 9% of prison leavers matched to NPD records at the end of key stage 4 (year 11) had achieved 5 or more GCSEs or equivalent qualifications at grades A*-C (or 9-4 in newer qualifications) which is considered to be a full level 2 qualification. For context, published DfE data show that between 52% and 80% of key stage 4 pupils nationally achieved these qualifications from 2001/02 (the first year the prison leaver cohort completed GCSEs) to 2014/15 (when last published).^{[footnote 13]}

Table 4: Participation by prior educational attainment

Educational qualification measure	Number of prison leavers with prior attainment	Percentage with prior attainment participating in any accredited course	Percentage without prior attainment participating any accredited course
Achieving at least one pass in a GCSE or other qualification at key stage 4	11,900	59%	61%
Achieving 5 A*-C (or 9-1) GCSEs or equivalents	1,300	53%	60%
Achieving at least two A levels when aged 16 to 18	300	49%	59%

As shown in table 4, 60% of those who did not achieve 5 or more GCSE or equivalent qualifications at these grades had participated in an accredited education course while in prison, higher than the participation rate for those holding these prior qualifications (53%). This difference was accounted for by a higher percentage having entered functional skills English and maths qualifications (19% and 18% respectively) than those with 5 or more GCSEs at these grades (6% for each subject), likely because more of those with prior passes already possessing relevant level 2 qualifications.

Figure 9 shows that the most common English qualification gained by those with 5 or more GCSEs or equivalent qualifications at grades A*-C was at level 2 (53% of functional skills English qualifications achieved), while entry level and level 1 qualifications were most common for those not having achieved this at school (38% of functional skills English qualifications achieved).

Figure 9: Level of course achieved in English by prior educational qualifications

Findings were similar for the 2% of prison leavers who achieved two or more A levels when aged 16 to 18, a level 3 qualification benchmark; just under half (49%) participated in prison education courses, lower than for those without 2 A levels (59%).

18% of prison leavers matched to NPD records at end of key stage 4 had not achieved any passes in GCSE or other qualifications. For context, published DfE data show that between 5% and less than 1% of pupils nationally finished key stage 4 without achieving any passes from 2001/02 to 2019/20 (the years the prison leaver cohort completed GCSEs). It is, however, lower than the 29% reported for cohort 1 as adults based on responses to OASys assessments. The rate may be lower than that reported in cohort 1 because only younger prisoners have been matched to DfE data (as a lower proportion of younger adults in England have no qualifications^{[footnote 14]}) or due to self-reporting or differences in definitions in OASys.

More than 4 in 10 of those without any passes in GCSE or other qualifications (42%) left prison with a pass in at least one accredited qualification. Entry level qualifications in functional skills English and maths were the most common level to enter and achieve, as shown for English in figure 9.

The remaining 82% of prison leavers who had been matched to key stage 4 results^{[footnote 15]} includes those who achieved between one and four level 2 passes at grades A* to C (or 9 to 4), and those who achieved some GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, but with only level 1 passes at D to G (or 3 to 1).

As the data on prior qualifications relates to school records these breakdowns do not account for whether individuals went on to obtain further qualifications (or resit at higher grades) at a later point prior to entering custody.

5.3 Special educational needs

A large majority (78%) of prison leavers matched to NPD records had special educational needs (SEN) identified while attending school, and 18% had a Statement of SEN or an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan (indicating a more official recognition of needs and plan for support).^{[footnote 16]} For context, published DfE data show between 12% and 23% of pupils attending all schools nationally had any SEN need from 2001/02 to 2019/20, and around 3% of pupils in each year had a statement or EHC plan.^{[footnote 17]}

A higher proportion of prison leavers who had a Special Educational Need recorded while in school participated in functional skills maths and English courses in prison (18% and 19% respectively) than those with no recorded needs (14% and 15% respectively). This was also true of those with a statement of SEN or EHC plan (20% participated in maths and 22% in English). A similar proportion entered vocational qualifications (49% of those with SEN compared to 50% for those with no recorded needs).

Figure 10 shows that the most common English qualifications prison leavers with SEN had achieved by the end of their sentence were at entry level (43% for any SEN need and 63% for those with a statement or EHC plan), whereas four fifths (82%) of those with no recorded SEN needs who achieved English qualifications did so at level 1 or 2.

Figure 10: Level of course achieved in English by Special Educational Needs

5.4 Indicators of educational engagement and socio-economic disadvantage

Of the prison leavers matched to NPD records:

• More than half (56%) were persistently or severely absent, missing more than 10% of sessions in at least one academic year.

• More than one in ten were permanently excluded (14%) in the years captured in the data.

Across these indicators, a slightly higher proportion of those experiencing these challenges with engagement in education while at school participated in education while in prison custody (3 to 5 percentage points higher) as shown in table 5. Almost two thirds of those prison leavers who were severely absent from school (for more than 50% of sessions in a year) (62%) participated in education in prison and almost half (44%) achieved at least one course. Similarly, 43% of prison leavers who had been permanently excluded from school achieved at least one course in prison.

Table 5: Participation by challenges in educational engagement

Factor	Number of prison leavers ever recorded with factor	Percentage ever recorded with factor participating in any accredited course	Percentage not recorded with factor participating in any accredited course
Persistent absence (>10%)	10,500	61%	56%
Severe absence (>50%)	2,700	62%	58%
Permanently excluded	2,500	61%	58%

NPD data also provides some information about broader indicators of disadvantage captured while the cohort were of school age:

• Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) were ever eligible for free school meals (FSM) in the years captured in the data (meaning their household received certain qualifying out-of-work benefits).

• 9 out of 10 (93%) had lived in the most deprived 20% of areas in based on the proportion of families with children claiming low-income related benefits (Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index, IDACI) in the years captured in the data.

• 3 in 20 (14%) were a child looked after by their local authority (in care).^{[footnote 18]}

This demonstrates, as shown by previous analysis of MOJ-DfE data^{[footnote 19]}, that a high proportion of those sentenced under the criminal justice system have experienced socio-economic disadvantage and involvement with social care as children. Although these groups are generally associated with lower attainment in school^{[footnote 20]} (and have overlap with the other indicators from NPD data) table 6 shows that a higher proportion participated in prison education courses than those not recorded as having indicators of socio-economic disadvantage.

Table 6: Participation by socio-economic factors

Factor	Number of prison leavers ever recorded with factor	Percentage ever recorded with factor participating in any accredited course	Percentage not recorded with factor participating any accredited course
Ever eligible for FSM	11,000	60%	56%
Ever resident in 20% most deprived areas (IDACI)	17,400	59%	57%
Ever a child looked after[footnote 20]	2,000	64%	59%

 6. Further information

General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from: https://uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/about-the-authority/uk-statistical-system/

6.1 Accompanying files

The following products are published as part of this release:

• A statistical bulletin, containing commentary and analysis.

• A technical guide, providing further information on how the data are collected and processed.

• Supporting tables:

• Participation in prison education: prison leavers in 2024 main tables (cohort 1)

• Participation in prison education: prison leavers in 2024, highest level of qualification achieved in English tables (cohort 1)

• Participation in prison education: prison leavers in 2024, highest level of qualification achieved in mathematics tables (cohort 1)

• Participation in prison education: prison leavers in 2024, highest level of qualification achieved in vocational courses tables (cohort 1)

• Participation in prison education: MOJ-DfE matched prison leavers main tables (cohort 2)

• Participation in prison education: MOJ-DfE matched prison leavers highest level of qualification achieved tables (cohort 2)

7. Contact

Media contacts

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice Press Enquiries webpage

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:

Kylie Hill
Responsible Statistician
Ministry of Justice
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ

Email: BOLD_RR@justice.gov.uk

© Crown copyright

Produced by the Ministry of Justice

Alternative formats are available on request from BOLD_RR@justice.gov.uk

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1. Entry level qualifications are of a lower difficulty level than GCSEs or equivalents. What qualification levels mean: England, Wales and Northern Ireland - GOV.UK ↩

2. Proven reoffending statistics quarterly: October 2014 to September 2015 - GOV.UK ↩

3. Unlocking potential: a review of education in prison - GOV.UK ↩

4. Not just another brick in the wall: why prisoners need an education to climb the ladder of opportunity - Education Committee ↩

5. New Prison Education Service to cut crime - GOV.UK ↩

6. Section 4.4 of the findings includes a comparison to offenders leaving prison after serving less than 3 months in custody. ↩

7. 97% of cohort 1 were matched to an OASys layer 3 assessment within 2 years of their conviction date. ↩

8. What qualification levels mean: England, Wales and Northern Ireland - GOV.UK ↩

9. Individual item response rates for the questions included were between 88% and 92%. ↩

10. Education, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics ↩

11. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/740303/development-screen-identify-individuals-oasys-report.pdf ↩

12. Find a regulated qualification - GOV.UK ↩

13. This includes individuals considered to have met this benchmark in the year they completed key stage 4. Over this period there have been changes to both GCSE qualifications and grading (from 2016/17); and the entries and equivalent qualifications that are counted in national statistics following reforms recommended in Professor Alison Wolf’s review of qualifications (from 2014/15) which affect comparability over time. National figures can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4 ↩

14. Education, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics ↩

15. i.e. excluding those that did not achieve any passes in GCSEs or other qualifications and achieved 5 or more GCSEs or equivalent qualifications at grades A*-C (or 9-4 in newer qualifications). ↩

16. Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND): Overview - GOV.UK ↩

17. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen ↩

18. Data on Children Looked After is available from 2005/06 to 2019/20 and the percentage is calculated for individuals matched to the NPD in these years. ↩

19. Education, children’s social care and offending - GOV.UK ↩

20. Key stage 4 performance, Academic year 2023/24 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK ↩ ↩²