We hold a budget for OLASS funding in England. The focus for this funding includes:
a detailed assessment of functional English and maths for all offenders
a greater focus on developing skills and routes to employment, especially in the 12 months before prisoners are released
putting prisons in groups, with a designated lead governor co-ordinating activity
a greater role for lead governors in planning the curriculum to meet local needs, based on an understanding of the job market offenders are released into
[306] Unless this section states otherwise, OLASS funding follows the same principles, rules and evidence requirements as those set out throughout the rest of the funding rules
[307] If other factors apply, due to the nature of OLASS, we have set these out in this section. If you have specific questions, you should contact our Central Delivery Service.
Eligibility for funding
OLASS funding applies to adults (18 and over) in custody, including prisoners on remand.
[308] Learner eligibility rules on ordinary residence do not apply to OLASS funding. (For a definition of ordinarily resident, see annex 1).
[309] Providers delivering OLASS-funded programmes in English prisons may treat all prisoners as individuals eligible for our funding.
[310] This concession only applies to OLASS funded learning in adult prisons. It does not apply to
individuals serving community sentences
prisoners accessing adult skills budget funded provision while released on temporary licence
individuals under supervision in the community
individuals held in immigration detention centres or immigration removal centres.
The usual eligibility rules apply in each of these cases.
[311] Learners aged 18 to 23 are eligible for full funding through the OLASS programme for all learning aims up to and including level 3, including awards and units (where they are approved for funding).
[312] Learners aged 24 or over are eligible for full funding through the OLASS programme for all learning aims up to and including level 2, including awards and units (where they are approved for funding).
[313] Offenders in prison who are aged 24 or over at the start of learning and studying certain types of learning aims will not be eligible for funding through OLASS, but may apply for a 24+ advanced learning loan (loan).
[314] Details of loans for offenders in prison can be found in section 3, part 5 programmes - 24+ advanced learning loans.
[315] In exceptional circumstances, some individuals may be below the age of 18 when they enter an adult prison. If this is the case, you must discuss the particular circumstances with our Central Delivery Service.
[316] Eligible learning aims will be flagged as eligible OLASS provision in LARS separately from the adult skills budget.
Individualised Learner Record (ILR)
[317] You will report data back to us through the ILR. You must keep your records up to date. OLASS funded learning aims must be reported using code LDM034 in the ‘learning delivery funding and monitoring’ fields.
Priority learning aims
Providers must make sure that learners are enrolled on learning aims that are appropriate to their needs. For example, before enrolling on English and maths provision, learners should have demonstrated that they need this provision and this assessment should be recorded in their learning agreement.
Lead governors and partner organisations will match the learning and skills offer for learners in custody with the local, regional or national employment priorities for the areas each cluster (group) of prisons releases offenders to.
[318] By September 2014 you must provide a delivery plan at prison level which sets out how you will deliver the core curriculum planned by the lead governor. The plan is likely to be made up from 4 elements:
[318.1] initial assessment of English and maths;
[318.2] English and maths and English as a second language (ESOL);
318.3] vocational qualifications, including information and communications technology (ICT); and
[318.4] employability skills (these may include a wide range of team working, personal, social and other skills).
English, maths and ESOL
English, maths and ESOL provision forms part of the core offer and are likely to be required in every prison. Increasingly, this will require intensive learning, including online learning.
[319] The OLASS provider must undertake a thorough initial assessment to determine the level of English and maths each prisoner is currently working at (see paragraphs 84 to 88 in section 2, part 2 the adult skills budget - apprenticeships).
Vocational training
[320] Providers must work with the lead governor in each cluster and with the wider partnership, for example Jobcentre Plus, work programme providers, offender managers, probation trusts (see note 15 below) and local employers in the areas to which prisoners will be resettled. The aim is to identify and develop opportunities for learning and skills that meet local, regional or national employment priorities in these resettlement areas.
Note 15: Arrangements for managing offenders ‘through the gate’ and in the community are being significantly changed to reflect the government’s transforming rehabilitation plans.
Other qualifications
[321] Some prisons require offenders to have accredited prior learning (for example, food hygiene or health and safety certification) before they can work in kitchens and other prison industries. If this learning and the work experience in the prison will help the learner gain employment when they leave prison, the prior learning can be funded through OLASS. If these learning aims are listed on the Learning Aim Reference Service (LARS) they should be used. If these learning aims are not listed on LARS, they can be delivered through personal and social development (PSD) (see the next section).
Learning for personal and social development (PSD)
[322] Wherever possible, the OLASS learning must be for regulated qualifications or units. Regulated qualifications and units do not count towards PSD spend.
[323] For the purposes of OLASS, PSD activity counts as unregulated provision. The learner’s learning agreement should set out how their learning experience and the skills they gain will help to increase their confidence and self-esteem, and how the skills they gain will contribute to further learning and make them more employable.
[324] There is no separate funding allocation for PSD activity in 2014/2015. We will continue to monitor levels of PSD delivery and, as in previous years, we do not expect the value of PSD activity to increase between 2013/2014 and 2014/2015. This requirement will be monitored by the lead governor of each group of prisons as the needs of individual prisons will vary. Whether or not to use funding for PSD delivery must be discussed between the appropriate lead governors and providers at each group of prisons.
[325] You must use any informal PSD learning you provide to encourage progression to further learning and employment. You do this by having appropriate systems in place to refer learners to further learning as appropriate. Prisons must monitor how PSD is used to support learner progression.
[326] The funding system allows providers to identify, record and allocate a value for appropriate PSD activity. By using appropriate learning-aim references, providers can identify the scale and differences between PSD activity provided to the prison.
[327] The funding rates to be used for PSD activity for 2014/2015 are the same as our adult skills budget funding rates for non-regulated provision.
Supporting learners in custody who are carrying out higher education or other separately funded distance learning
[328] OLASS providers must support learners who want to study with the Open University and other institutions that provide courses on a distance-learning basis. You must meet this obligation, and
co-operate with the prison and other partners to make sure you do. We will continue to monitor this closely. You can find more information in the relevant prison service instruction (PSI).
[329] You must make sure that appropriate staff from your organisation are available to give learners the time, resources and support they need for their studies. This includes adequate access to appropriate ICT facilities in order for the learner to take part in learning.
[330] The support you must provide does not include tutorial input, but should include general mentoring and guidance.
Supporting learners who are providing mentoring
[331] There are roles for adult learners in custody acting as mentors, including ‘peer to peer’ teaching to improve outcomes. Providers must make sure that this activity is accredited through regulated qualifications, so that it can be used as a factor on the route to employment.
Continuing learning after leaving custody
[332] If a learner does not complete their learning aim while in custody, we expect you to put arrangements in place to provide support after they leave prison, and make sure they are fully funded through the adult skills budget. You and the lead governor need to carefully consider a prospective learner’s sentence length, the time they are likely to need to complete a course, and their eligibility for provision funded from the adult skills budget when they leave prison. Local partnership arrangements should make sure that learning started in custody can be supported by suitable equivalent provision ‘outside’. Learners will use the credit they have built up in custody towards the full qualification.
Apprenticeships
The Review of Offender Learning (Making Prisons Work: Skills for Rehabilitation, published in May 2011) aims to “increase the scope for prisoners to prepare for and take up Apprenticeship opportunities”.
There are currently two broad options to support providers delivering apprenticeship related activity to offenders in custody:
a unit based curriculum that supports learners in preparing for taking up an Apprenticeship; and
apprenticeships for those released on temporary licence into paid employment.
[333] Currently it is not possible for offenders to undertake a nationally recognised apprenticeship while serving their sentence in closed prisons due to the requirement of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.
[334] However, offenders released on temporary licence (ROTL) into paid employment can take part in an apprenticeship, supported by the adult skills budget.
[335] Where an offender is approaching the end of their period in custody, and the prison authorities, the National Careers Service and the offender have agreed that an apprenticeship is a realistic option, the offender must be able to get access to the appropriate curriculum units or, for eligible offenders released on temporary licence, an apprenticeship.
Traineeships
[336] Offenders can do the training element of a traineeship in custody, and do the work placement while released on temporary licence (ROTL). In these circumstances, the provider will need to have been judged ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ by Ofsted and the prison’s overall learning and skills provision must have been judged to be ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ following an Ofsted inspection as part of an inspection of the prison by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons. The traineeship must be funded by the adult skills budget. Normal traineeship sub-contracting rules apply.
Job outcome payments
[337] Job outcome payments are not available for learning provided through OLASS funding.
Evidence required
As well as the learning agreement we will require evidence of the following.
Paragraph 318 – Your agreed delivery plan at prison level.