Contact Strode CollegeOffender Learning
Strode College has been a provider of education to prisons for more than 30 years. In the 1970s the Prison Service asked the College to make arrangements to provide an education service at HM Prison Shepton Mallet. In the early 90's a contract was awarded for the provision of education at the Weare moored in Portland Harbour. In a national competitive tendering exercise, further contracts were awarded in 1998 at HMP Dartmoor, HMP Channings Wood (Newton Abbot), HMP Exeter, HMP Bristol, HM YOI Portland, HMP The Verne (Portland) and HMP Dorchester. In 2004 further contracts were won to deliver education/training at HM Prisons Erlestoke (Wiltshire) and Guys Marsh (Dorset). In December 2004 the responsibility and funding of Prison Education in the South West was transferred from the Prison Service to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) Directorate. The entire service for offenders in custody and in the community was competitively tendered and Strode College was awarded contracts from 1 August 2005 to deliver Skills for Life, ICT and vocational courses in all 13 prisons in the south west of England. The prisons include those already detailed above (except Weare which was closed on 31st July 2005) plus HMP Gloucester, Leyhill and Eastwood Park (both in south Gloucestershire). Between them, the establishments hold more than 6300 prisoners with approximately half of them engaging with learning and skills at any one time.
Under OLASS3, from August 2009, the college has been responsible for delivering Literacy, Numeracy, ICT and vocational skills to 10 prisons in the South-West. HMPs Gloucester, Dorchester and Shepton Mallet became part of a different unit of delivery from that time.
The College provides curricula which meets the needs of the prisoners based on the twin principles of raising the level of basic skills and providing courses which assist prisoners to gain employment on release. The College employs over 250 full and part time qualified teachers in the prisons and delivers 166,000 teaching hours per year. All the education courses which are provided in the prisons are externally accredited by awarding bodies. In 2008/2009 over 23,200 accreditations were achieved by prisoners through the College. The College provides training courses on site for Prison Service staff in some of the prisons.
All of the College quality, personnel and financial policies and practices are fully applied to the 10 prisons. A comprehensive staff development programme for prison education staff is delivered on site, in College or through external provision.
Strode College won a coveted Association of Colleges Beacon Award in November 2002 for delivery of English Speaking Board Oral Communication courses in all 9 of the original prisons.
