Head of Education, Skills and Work - HMP Wakefield

Statistics show that almost half of all prisoners reoffend within 12 months of release at an economic cost of £18 billion per year.

Prison leavers who enter employment in the first 12 months following release are 9 percentage points less likely to reoffend. 

Education in prison is vital for individuals to develop the skills they need to unlock their potential, gain employment, and become assets to their communities. It is one of the pillars of effective rehabilitation.

His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service are recruiting new Heads of Education, Skills and Work (HoESW) across England and Wales.

As a member of a prison’s Senior Leadership Team, HoESW will hold qualified teacher status and have significant experience of leadership from within the education sector.

HoESW will be expected to have experience and knowledge of multi-disciplinary curriculum design and delivery, transferring these skills into the prison environment to ensure that prisoners are supported to gain the qualifications and skills required to obtain meaningful employment or further training on release. 

HoESW will champion a ‘culture of learning’ within their prison; working with other Heads of Function to promote the value of education and work to people in prison. Working with the education provider and prison industries, the HoESW will use their expertise to develop and maintain high quality provision so that it meets the needs of all learners. 

As the prison’s Ofsted lead, the HoESW will utilise their experience to design a clear curriculum intent for the prison, alongside a strategy to implement this and measure its impact on prisoner outcomes. 

As a HoESW, you will be embedded into prison life and work closely with prison staff to create a holistic approach to education, whilst also building relationships in the community. These relationships will be essential in enabling someone to leave prison, access a job and support their successful resettlement back into their community

This position involves line management responsibility for the education, skills and work team. Alongside this, as with other members of the senior team, the HoESW will work with front line officers and staff to support the rehabilitation of prisoners in the day-to-day life of prison.

Prison experience is not necessary as we will support HoESW with comprehensive training, induction and wider support to prepare you for working in a prison. This will include ongoing peer support from the community of HoESW around the country.

To watch a current HoESW talk about their day-to-day role and experience of moving out of mainstream education sector into education in prisons, please follow the links below:

Want to teach inside a prison? Head of Education, Skills and Work - YouTube

If you are interested in applying for the HoESW position, please follow this link to the job application portal: https://jobs.justice.gov.uk/role/reducing-reoffending/

For those interested in finding out more about the role, please contact us on headsofeducationskillsandwork@justice.gov.uk for the link to a pre-recorded candidate information session.