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Chief Inspectors call for action on education in prison

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The Chief Inspectors of HMI Prisons and Ofsted have written to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice about the state of education provision in prison. They argue that 10 years on from the Coates review, and despite the change it called for, prison education is now in a poorer state. They call for the prison service to take action to give prisoners the education, skills, knowledge and work habits to be successful on release, helping to alleviate pressure on prison places and create fewer victims of crime.

Read the letter

Notes to editors

  1. Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor and Chief Inspector of Ofsted Martyn Oliver wrote to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on 6 November 2026.
  2. This year marks a decade since the publication of Dame Sally Coates’ independent review of prison education. Read the Coates Review: Unlocking potential: a review of education in prison – GOV.UK
  3. In 2016–17, 55% of the prisons inspected by HMI Prisons scored either ‘reasonably good’ or ‘good’ for purposeful activity. In 2025–26, this dropped to just 23% of the adult prisons inspected. On 31 August 2017, 44% of prisons were graded good or outstanding for overall effectiveness by Ofsted. By the time of Ofsted’s most recent annual report (2024–25), the figure had slipped to just 18%.
  4. Please email media@hmiprisons.gov.uk if you would like more information.