The 2021-22 academic year saw 26 prisoner students engaging with the University of Westminster’s ‘Education on the inside - Prison Delivery Pilot Programme’ that allows inmates to study for Westminster credits.
The Prison Delivery Pilot Programme is an innovative project developing a model of teaching delivery which will allow the University of Westminster to offer full degrees to people across the prison estate. The pilot is working with modules and staff on the Foundation Year to adapt and deliver existing courses to make them available to students in prison. The project is focused on understanding and overcoming the many barriers to providing high quality higher education in prisons.
The initiative is led by Dr Morwenna Bennallick, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Westminster and is in partnership with DWRM consultants. The programme has been funded thus far by the Quintin Hogg Trust, support from the University and external trust funding.
Over this academic year, 26 students in prison have engaged in two standalone level 3 modules ran across a range of prisons, with excellent success so far. In semester one, the module Introduction to Academic Practice, ran by Westminster’s Centre for Education and Teaching Innovation (CETI), was delivered to a cohort of seven students based in HMYOI Feltham. In running the second module Crime and Society, led by Criminology, a new model of delivery has been developed which has allowed the module to grow to 19 students registered across 10 prisons. The blended approach adopted in this teaching delivery includes the use of restricted chromebooks.
In the next academic year, the project intends to continue and develop its delivery adding more modules to the programme. This will be further enhanced by additional student support initiatives including a library partnership service led by existing Westminster students.
Education is a powerful tool to support people in prison to turn their lives around. It can provide hope, aspiration, a plan for the future and reduce the likelihood of reoffending. Despite this, educational opportunities in prison are very limited with few options for people in prison to study at higher levels. Currently, less than 2% of the 80,000 people in prison are studying for a degree yet the demand for these opportunities is high. This innovative pilot seeks to position the University of Westminster as one of the very few higher education institutions offering degrees to prisoner students.
The University of Westminster is committed to providing access to education for people from all backgrounds, and through this scheme, intends to lead the current initiative seeking to broaden access to higher education for current and former prisoners.
The University has a strong track record as a leader in the field of prison university partnerships. Westminster hosts a number of existing partnerships which bring Westminster students and prisoner students together in a range of learning initiatives. These partnerships are embedded and growing. This sector-leading position makes the University of Westminster an ideal institution to lead the current initiative seeking to broaden access to higher education for current and former prisoners.
Project lead Dr Morwenna Bennallick said: “The impact of higher education in prisons goes far beyond the individual student. As well as providing routes for aspiration, it can be a powerful tool in shaping the culture of a prison and can challenge the stigma people in prison – and leaving prison – face. I am delighted to see the early successes of this pilot and I am excited to grow this initiative over the upcoming years. We hope to bring in more courses as the project grow and welcome colleagues from disciplines across the University to get involved.”
Jordan Scammell, Head of Development and Fundraising at the University of Westminster, said: “It is so wonderful to see the success of the pilot year. COVID certainly delayed things, which I think makes the whole team appreciate these achievements even more. This pilot gives us a real spring board to now scale up and make the project sustainable in the longer-term. We are indebted to our generous funders The Golden Bottle Trust and Fawcet Trust for investing in the pilot and our prisoners on the inside – the programme is such an important part of their rehabilitation. I look forward to working further with our funders in the year ahead.”
If you are interested in learning more about this project, please contact Morwenna at [email protected].
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