English assessments undertaken by prisoners in the prison estate show 65% of prisoners have low literacy skills, at or below that of an 11-year-old. Low literacy skills are predictors of offending and reoffending and part of the reason prisoners, and their families are often stuck in a cycle of trauma, societal exclusion and poor socio-economic circumstances. Sussex Prisoner’s Families recently had a conversation with an officer at a Sussex prison; they said that between 50 and 80% of prisoners have low literacy skills. This is staggering and clearly needs addressing.
These links have been recognized by the government who have announced the appointment of a ‘Reading Laureate’, alongside £1.8 million for pilot literacy programs. Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series, is the first postholder. Mr Child has been running literacy pilot programmes in prisons in the last year and will expand this in the coming months. The project involves Mr Child and Paul Davies MP visiting prisons and engaging with the prisoners, encouraging them to read, write, and discuss books. The pilot prisons involved in this report a reduction in stress and anxiety amongst the prisoners who have participated, and the program has expanded to include political debate.
Sussex Prisoner’s Families welcome all steps to engage with prisoners to better support them to prevent reoffending. Reading education, and wider functional skills training must be a priority across the prison estate. Neurodiversity officers are working across the prison estate to ensure prisoners with neurodiverse needs are identified and can access the right education and training opportunities. This is a great leap forward, but time is the crucial resource needed to really address those facing the greatest challenges. The Shannon Trust works in prisons to inspire prisoners who can read to read more and to teach those who can’t through their program ‘Turning Pages’. Research by the Shannon Trust showed that people who participated in this program were more considered about their future opportunities and reconsidered their negative interpretations of education. The Shannon Trust acknowledges that this approach requires resources; we would encourage government to consider the efficacy of the Shannon Trust’s approach and meet this need, reinstating programs that have been cut.
We spoke to Councillor Robina Baine who used to work in prisons that were among the first to implement the ‘Turning Pages’ program. Councillor Baine highlighted that one of the difficulties to changing this situation is that prisoners have learned to mask their lack of literacy skills, sometimes even from their own families. Overcoming this takes sensitivity. One of the ways this was addressed was through a peer mentoring scheme. A stronger reader was paired with a weaker reader so they could support each other. This builds relationships, confidence and creates trust. She told us of the impact this could have, describing how one man in his 50s cried when he was able to write a birthday message to his daughter for the first time.
Alongside this programme, the government has introduced new sentencing guidelines focusing on rehabilitation in the community. For this to be successful, resources need to be provided to create spaces where the development of functional skills can continue outside of the prison estate. Sussex Prisoner’s Families advocate for funding programmes that focus on former offenders’ learning through family interactions. This could contribute to building relationships, learning, developing new skills, and creating a barrier to intragenerational offending.
Considering inter-generational offending, childhood is the key time to engage. To reach adulthood and not have key literacy skills, a child has been failed repeatedly. As well as recognizing the very great need in the current prison population, we recognize the growing need for interventions that break the cycle of intragenerational offending, so families don’t perpetually face these traumas.
