HM Prison Service is planning to begin providing prisoners with digital learning content as part of their rehabilitation.
Minister for Prisons, Parole and Probation Edward Argar referred to the plan in answering a parliamentary question from Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi on measures to support the educational needs of prisoners.
Argar said: “We have procured digital learning content specifically to address the needs of prisoners, focusing on improving literacy and expanding the range of subjects available digitally for learners.
“This content will be coming online for testing in prisons in spring 2024 and will be made available in all prisons across England and Wales.”
Prisoners are also able to access Open University courses.
Safe laptops
This will be supported by the availability of 2,500 Coracle laptops distributed among 85 prisons to support learners. They are designed for safe offline use, which can make it easier for prisoners to use in their cells and improve access outside of the classroom.
Argar added that progress on a prisoner’s developed will be tracked on a single platform as part of the Digital Prisons Service.
