Pentonville prisoners have lost out on seven months of education during the pandemic, with no return to the classroom in sight. The future prospects of many prisoners will likely be damaged as a result, according to the Prisoner Learning Alliance, a network of prison education experts.
Face-to-face teaching has been suspended at Pentonville since March in light of national restrictions, with education teams lacking key worker status needed to go into prisons. Online teaching is not an option since prisoners have no access to the internet.
“People are going to come out of prison having missed out on learning really valuable skills,” says Francesca Cooney, a spokeswoman for the Prisoner Learning Alliance.
“In a classroom, people learn how to communicate, work in a team, and make decisions. These are all transferable skills important for getting employment on release,” she continues.
For the last seven months, most prisoners have been locked in their cells for 23 hours a day, as prisons struggle to cope with the pandemic.
“Prisoners are basically experiencing solitary confinement. We do not know what the long term impact is of locking people up without human contact for many months. Many will be demotivated, depressed, and disengaged, and find it hard to engage back in prison life,” says Francesca.
Prisoners have been provided with educational materials to work through in their cells. However, self-study is often not suitable for the large proportion of prisoners with learning difficulties who need more support, according to Francesca.
Alongside improving their literacy, numeracy, and language skills, Pentonville residents would normally be able to study a range of vocational courses. However, with exams and assessments cancelled, prisoners are unlikely to gain any qualifications this year.
“Some face to face education could happen safely. Prisons should be proactive and look at what is really possible,” Francesca says.
Russell, a Pentonville inmate, reflected on the importance of prison education for a booklet published this summer with the Prisoners Education Trust.
“This degree that I am starting will help me to achieve my goals in life, and to find work involving art after being released,” he wrote.
