Prison governor defends La Moye’s support record

Prison governor defends La Moye’s support record

A new report published by the national prisons inspector has criticised the activities programme at the prison, claiming that it lacks a ‘sufficient education, skills and work provision’.

La Moye received otherwise good feedback, notably for its safety standards and respect levels for staff, but prison governor Bill Millar has hit back at the criticisms, saying that the inspectors had not properly considered the circumstances that are particular to Jersey.

Mr Millar lodged a formal complaint after becoming concerned about the conduct and findings of an Ofsted [education standards authority] official during the inspection, which was carried out between 11 and 22 September last year.

While providing positive feedback in many areas following the inspection, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke said that a greater development of the the skills and employability of inmates was required at La Moye.

‘Prisoners’ cells were among the best we have seen and the standards of cleanliness were impressive. Most notable was the professionalism of the officers working at the prison,’ he said.

‘[But] the framework for inspecting learning and skills has moved on significantly since the last inspection of La Moye in 2013, and prisons are now expected to prioritise activities that are likely to increase the employability of the prisoners when they release into the community.

‘This area, called purposeful activity, saw a decline in ratings for La Moye prison.’

He added: ‘Our report acknowledges the quality of the activities that were available to prisoners and praises the well-trained, experienced and motivated education, skills and work staff. However, the fundamental failing was the lack of sufficient education, skills and work provision that prisoners needed to prepare them for employment, training or education on release.’

Mr Millar said that it was ‘difficult to understand’ the decline in ratings for purposeful activities, as most of the comments in the report were positive.

‘Our record in this regard [prisoners finding work on release] is extremely good and, consequently, the final rating in this area seems unjustified,’ he said.

He added that the actions of the Ofsted inspector had prompted him to take formal action and that the inspector’s actions had upset several staff members at the prison during the inspection due to a ‘dismissive’ attitude.

‘I think it [the criticism received] is really down to the Ofsted inspector, who we have lodged a formal complaint about,’ he said.

‘I think from the Ofsted point of view, they are required to consider what level of academic or technical qualifications are provided but there are other things they should be looking at.

‘In Jersey most of the inmates here are not going to be able to get out and work in the finance industry, or other very technical jobs. So, we focus more on developing soft skills such as communication, being a good team player, or developing self-confidence.

‘I don’t think, and this was the case with the last report, that they gave enough attention to the particular circumstances of Jersey.’

He added: ‘Our staff said that the inspector was very dismissive of what they had to say and there was the unfortunate effect that they often felt demoralised afterwards, which in my view is unacceptable.

‘We raised a complaint because this was simply unfair.’

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