Prison Education Service – Screening & Assessment Digital Tools

Concepts

• educational software
• prison education service
• digital tools
• additional learning needs indication tool
• assessment tools
• new prison education service
• assessment’ process
• procured screening
• provision of a digital functional skills tool
• procured tools

Location

United Kingdom:

Description

His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is implementing a new Prison Education Service (PES) programme which is working to design and implement the next generation of adult education services in prisons in England. The service will include an initial ‘Screening and Assessment’ process, delivered via tools that accurately identify prisoners’ educational attainment and ability levels, as well as potential additional needs to support successful engagement with prison education. We aim to embed the procured Screening and Assessment tools as part of a modern and robust digital infrastructure that supports data analysis, decision making, tailored support plans and access to appropriate education pathways, through integration with other 3rd party systems as required.

Total Quantity or Scope

As part of the roll-out of the new Prison Education Service (PES) in 2025, we are exploring capabilities within the market with a view to better understanding the availability and suitability of Screening and Assessment tools. The procured tools must cover ‘Functional Skills’ assessments, including English, Mathematics and Digital Skills educational levels. Further to this, there is a requirement for an ‘Additional Learning Needs Indication Tool’ (ALNIT), and assessments for reading and for ‘English for Speakers of Other Languages’ (ESOL) where identified as appropriate or necessary. The desired package will consist of tools which are validated and designed to create high quality, accessible, and accurate information on additional learning needs and functional skills levels across the whole prison estate. The information generated by the tools will be used to inform a prisoner’s starting point for the support they require in order to successfully engage with rehabilitative activities within prison, across education, skills and work. Accurate and effective Screening and Assessment is therefore essential for successfully supporting prisoners’ rehabilitation progress and resettlement outcomes. The intention is that the implementation of the new PES Initial Screening and Assessment process will be ready for deployment, with tools in place and staff trained for delivery, for 1 April 2025. The tools procured must as minimum meet the following requirements: 1. Provision of a digital Functional Skills tool, to assess the prisoner’s skills and ability in Mathematics, English, ICT, Reading and ESOL literacy. The tool must provide accurate results which define the prisoner’s ability. 2. Provision of an effective, high quality and evidenced based additional learning needs indicator tool which can produce accurate results, which inform education and prison-wide additional needs support planning processes. The additional learning needs indicator tool should: a. Clarify what the indicators of neurodivergent needs are for the individual, including any areas of strength as well as areas of need b. 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. c. 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. 3. Tools must generate results which are recorded by the Contractor and made available digitally live to the delivery Contractors, the Learner (where appropriate) and the Authority after completion and in line with any pre-agreed regular data submissions. The results must be able to be used to inform the learning pathway of each individual Learner. Additional information: In order to obtain a copy of the PIN launch pack organisations must get in contact with stuart.taylor6@justice.gov.uk and express an interest in supporting this process.

CPV Codes

• 48190000 - Educational software package
• 72222300 - Information technology services
• 75231230 - Prison services
• 80420000 - E-learning services

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** The Contractor shall ensure that: 1. The tools are of a consistent quality for completion data, outcomes and progress to be efficiently recorded and analysed to identify trends and patterns. 2. The tools provided meet the standards required to deliver outcomes as outlined in the PES Quality Framework. The Contractor shall make sure that it has a system in place for monitoring quality and effectiveness of its provision of the Services. 3. Contractors should work with key stakeholders to ensure that information from screening and assessment that is relevant on release can be shared in line with the Authority information sharing guidance. 4. The screening tools are compatible with MoJ/HMPPS Digital strategy and delivery teams to ensure continual compatibility with online systems, hardware and software. 5. The screening tools should be reviewed and updated at a frequency agreed with the Authority to ensure that the quality and content of the tools is up-to-date and reflects leading industry standards. 6. The Contractor shall engage with the governance process and provide timely and accurate Management Information and data reporting to the Authority. 7. The tools are capable of being administered during the initial 28 day prisoner settlement period so that results are available within agreed timescales following reception of an individual into the Establishment. Data should be available in real-time once completed. 8. The tools must be accessed, completed, and capture output in a digital format on a web-based platform. Contingency arrangements should also be considered in the event that the primary online access route is unavailable. Off-line, in-cell solutions should also be considered. 9. The tools are age appropriate, including being designed and suitable for adult individuals aged 18 or over. 10. The tools are accessible to all Individuals regardless of access requirements or disabilities. Accessibility requirements will be considered with reference to The Technology Code of Practice and Government guidance on Understanding Accessibility Requirements.