Prison education is the unsung part of post-school education. It plays a crucial role in work with offenders and the prevention of re-offending. Its lecturers work often work in the most difficult of situations, often with less support or respect.
Over recent years prison education has been through privatisation and contracting out of services, cuts in resources and staff, lowering of pay rates and narrowing of the prison education curriculum.
Closing prisons not the way to rehabilitate offenders
January 2013: UCU has said that plans to shut seven public prisons and reduce the capacity for prisoners would do nothing to enhance the likelihood of fewer prisoners reoffending: see UCU news release
Education key to prison rehabilitation
October 2012: UCU has said that a more thoughtful approach to criminal justice was required if laudable aims to rehabilitate offenders are to be achieved: Education key to prison rehabilitation, says UCU
UCU is the only union that represents all prison education lecturers. During privatisation UCU (as NATFHE) took the issues of prison education lecturers to the European Court of Justice and won. After lobbying by UCU during summer 2006, prison educators also won guarantees that the cost and value of their pension will remain effectively unchanged despite a change of employer.
UCU in in regular contact with the Home Office, OLSU, LSC and the colleges and other providers who employ lecturing staff. UCU also works very closely with other trade unions in the criminal justice sector and with other organisations concerned with the welfare of prisoners such as the Prison Reform Trust, The Howard league for penal Reform, and the Prisoner Education Trust.
There are UCU prison education branches, but most members are members of the UCU branch of whichever college is their employer. UCU branch officers can offer information and advice.
![[image depicting] UCU - University and College Union logo](./images/common/toplogo.gif "UCU - University and College Union's Logo")
