Government safeguards education of pupils in custody

TdaNews Direct
Published: 19 November, 2007

The Government announced its commitment to improve the education of young pupils in custody this week.

In a keynote speech to the Youth Justice Board Convention yesterday, Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, announced plans to reconsider the role of local authorities in education and training for young people in custody.

Mr Balls said: "This would mean that for the first time, young offenders will be given the right level of education and training consistent with the experiences of their peers outside the youth justice system.

"It's clear that over the last ten years we have made huge progress in improving the curriculum, raising standards in schools and improving the quality of teaching. Giving local authorities responsibility would mean that all young offenders whether in custody or the community will receive high quality learning, consistent with what happens in schools and colleges across the country."

He stressed that high quality education and training will help young people acquire the skills for success which he said was "the best way to break the cycle of offending".

A large proportion of young offenders have had difficult early experiences of education with 41 per cent having been regular truants and 15 per cent permanently excluded from school.