Children’s views of education in a young offenders institution

This chapter draws on children's views of education in a young offenders institution (YOI) to explore education provision in the youth secure estate from their perspectives. It focuses on a research undertaken by the author in a YOI. The chapter shows how listening to the experience of children in prison helps to understand how education provision could be improved to better achieve its objectives. Children themselves are a useful source of information about their previous educational experiences, the effectiveness of current provision, and which improvements should be considered. The chapter provides biographies of four individual boys, Chris, Paul, David, and Matt, who outline something of their experiences relating to education. It summarises some of the findings from the report, highlighting key themes and points for thinking about the broader role that education in prison can play for children in prison.