Prisoner Screening & Assessment Tools and Associated Services

Tender description

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has a legal requirement to secure the provision of education and training for prisoners and recognises that Education, Skills, and Work (ESW) play a significant role in reducing reoffending. A 2017 MoJ report shows that prisoners who participated in any form of learning activity were 9 percentage points less likely to reoffend compared to non-learners and 1.8 percentage points more likely to be in employment after release. MoJ is committed to delivering a transformed 'Prisoner Education Service' (PES) focused on work-based training and skills'. The Prisoner Education Service (PES) is developing an innovative, integrated digital ecosystem that brings together a holistic prisoner view that informs planning, delivery and accountability. Effective Screening and Assessment (S&A) is at the core of this, ensuring that prisoner’s learner needs are identified when engaging with education, and inform their learner journey throughout their time in custody. This system should enable HMPPS to drive up standards and outcomes across the estate, both in custody and in the community. To enable and support HMPPS ambition and realise the strategic decision for national education screening, we are procuring digital S&A tools for the Prison Education Service contracts. The scope of this procurement includes screening tools for English, Mathematics, Digital Skills, Reading, and Additional Learning Needs (ALN). Due to the importance of having a 'human element' in assessing reading ability, certain elements of the reading tool are not required to be digital. We are expecting to procure three Tools, one for each of the following Lots: Lot 1: English, Mathematics, and Digital Skills Lot 2: Reading Lot 3: Additional Learning Needs The Tools must be compliant with Government Digital Standard (GDS) in the design, testing and deployment in time for Service Commencement and must be capable of integrating with other services and sharing data using open standards. The vision for the S&A Tools contracts is to: • Implement high-quality, accessible tools that accurately identify prisoner ability levels and indicate potential needs. • Enable collaboration with the Authority and PES providers to ensure continuous improvement so that the S&A tools enable quality S&A delivery. • Enable data reporting integration of the S&A tools into the Authority systems. • Provide for the first time national consistent S&A tools across the PES estate to reduce duplication and improve data flow across the estate. • Deliver the ambition for digital by default screening with contingencies to allow continued S&A delivery when access to digital tool/s is impacted. • Ensure high quality S&A tool provider led training and ongoing support to PES core-education staff on the use of provider screening tools. • Drive quality via performance measured key performance indicators. Lot 1: English, Mathematics, and Digital Services: This Tool covers: English, Mathematics, and Digital Skills. We anticipate that the English and Mathematics element of the Tool would accurately assess Prisoner's current skills and ability under the following outcomes: * Pre-entry level * Entry level 1 * Entry level 2 * Entry level 3 * Level 1 * Level 2 or higher And the Digital Skills element of the Tool would accurately assess Prisoners' current skills and abilities in line with National Standards and provide an assessment of the Prisoner's everyday digital literacy skills and functional digital skills. This is subject to change based on market feedback. Lot 2: Reading: This Tool covers: Reading. It is anticipated that this tool would accurately identify gaps in a Prisoners' reading ability, covering comprehension, reading fluency and phonological awareness and would indicate a reading level/score and level of reading support required to progress their ability to read. Reading assessments would include digital elements but must include interaction with and assessment outcomes determined by prison delivery staff. This is subject to change based on market feedback. Lot 3: Additional Learning Needs: This Tool covers: Additional Learning Needs. The ALN Tool must identify areas of potential ALN including: * Communication and Interaction needs; * Cognition and Learning needs; * Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties; and * Physical and/or Sensory Needs The Tool would also: * identify strengths, contributing to the process of making reasonable adjustments. * Produce results that can inform and support processes of ALN support planning within a whole Prison approach including Prison inductions, Education, and the wider Prison regime. * Have been designed as an ALN Indicator Tool and not as a diagnostic tool (a diagnostic tool is designed to be administered and interpreted by suitably qualified psychology, learning disability, nursing or specialist education staff in order to reach a clear professional diagnosis). * Have been designed and developed with psychological and specialist educational input to ensure it covers a wide range of neurodivergent and other additional need(s). *Have been previously tested within a relevant further education and/or custodial environment comparable to the UK Prison system and be supported by research/reports which clearly demonstrate its validity and capability to deliver in a consistent and equitable manner. Contractors are expected to engage with the Authority in any additional validity testing requested. *Lead to the production of clear and detailed results and reports which: Can be understood by the Prisoner, Prison Staff and HMPPS staff. Clarify what the indicators of ALN are for the individual, including any areas of strength as well as areas of need. Clearly identify what practical strategies and reasonable adjustments can be put in place to support the individual both within education and more widely within the Prison regime and in community healthcare. It is desirable for the tool to suggest where further specialist assessment may be needed, and indicate where further diagnostic assessment may be needed, by suitably qualified psychology, learning disability, nursing or specialist education staff. The tool results are accessible to all staff who work with Prisoners across all departments within the Prison. The results must be available digitally, live, to the Authority and selected third parties. T his is subject to change based on market feedback.