Delivering the watchdog’s annual further education and skills lecture, Matthew Coffey, Ofsted national director of further education and skills, said the way convicted criminals are worked with must be changed.
He called for the government to extend the incentives it is planning for the apprenticeship programme to those who train and employ ex-offenders, and also said there should be a review of the rules on disclosing a criminal offence after completion of a sentence.
Coffey pointed to Ofsted statistics that show no prison was rated outstanding for its education and training provision in the last four years, as evidence of a system that is not working.
Only 35 per cent of prisons were judged good, he added.
“If these figures related to our schools, there would be a national outcry,” he said.
“The aim is to reduce the number of reoffenders by focusing on rehabilitation in prisons through better employer engagement, and better teaching and training.
“Far too many prisoners leave prison without employability skills, meaning they are less likely to find a job.
“Research shows that being in employment is one of the key factors that can reduce the risk of reoffending by between 30 and 50 per cent.
“However, examples of good training provision in prisons were all too scarce. In fact, we haven’t judged a single prison to be outstanding for their education and training provision in the last four years.”
Reoffending rates for under-18s leaving custody are currently at more than 70 per cent.
The government is due to unveil plans later this month to create so-called “secure colleges” to improve the education of young offenders in custody.
The idea was first proposed in February.
