HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is to run a trial of a new app to boost the literacy skills of prison leavers.
It is preparing to test the technology as part of a £20 million Prison Leavers Project to cut reoffending.
Named Turning Pages Digital, it will initially be used by 300 offenders in Kent, Surrey and Sussex beginning this month. It is designed to help users improve their reading skills with the support of trained mentors, and thereby improve their chances of finding employment.
Prisons and Probation Minister Damian Hinds MP said: “Literacy is the key to so many routes away from crime and we know that prisoners engaging in education are significantly less likely to reoffend.
“That’s why we’re investing £20 million in fantastic ideas like this literacy app, as we look at innovative ways to make our communities safer.”
Charity role
Turning Pages Digital has been developed by tech company Yalla Cooperative and the Shannon Trust, a charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged people to learn to read. It is based on the latter’s Turning Pages educational support book.
The trust already works in around 80 prisons and is now using the app to support offenders in the community.
HMPPS also highlighted the potential of another app, My Journey, developed by Swansea University, tech firm Legal Innovation Lab Wales, and Welsh reducing reoffending charity Include UK. It links offenders with community based support services and is being tested with 300 prison leavers from HMP Swansea and HMP Parc.
Both pilots are funded by the Government’s £1.45 million Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge, aimed at developing tech solutions to reduce reoffending and part of the wider Prison Leavers Project.
According to Prison Education and Accredited Programme Statistics, over 2021-22 61% of prisoners’ initial English assessment results were below GCSE level.
