19 Mar PRISONERS TO STUDY DRIVING THEORY IN BID TO CUT REOFFENDING
Prisoners are to be allowed to undertake driving theory courses on specially designed laptops preloaded with tests created by the Driving Vehicle Standards Agency.
As of next week, posters encouraging inmates to apply to study will be sent to prisons and placed on notice boards (poster attached).
Those who sign up will be able to access the “Official DVSA Theory Test Kit” app, which includes the full range of practice multiple choice questions and hazard perception tests, similar to those that students will take in the actual theory test.
The service is being delivered by edtech company Coracle, which provides inmates at 85 prisons in England and Wales with access to education in their cells through laptops.
Coracle is one of the few companies permitted by the Ministry of Justice and HM Prisons and Probation Service to provide prisoners with laptops for education.
James Tweed, founder and CEO of Coracle, said: “The UK has one of the highest reoffending rates in Europe and, far too often, people leave prison with no new skills and little prospect of finding work.
“Many prisoners also have very poor education backgrounds and will generally choose to work in prison rather than studying.
“However, we know many want to learn to drive and so this can act as a great incentive to engage in education and we hope it will lead them to select other courses.
“All evidence suggests that education can cut reoffending so it is my hope that a driving theory test may be a gateway to further study and a better future for inmates.”
While prisoners will be able to study for their driving test, the actual theory test itself can only be taken at an Approved DVSA Test Centre outside of prison.
