Paying the price: consequences for children’s education in prison in a market society

This article explores consequences for children’s education in custodial institutions in a contemporary market society, England and Wales. It finds that policy decision-making designed to ‘transform’ prison education for children is primarily influenced by a desire to limit the cost to the public purse of custodial placements. This paper argues that market values influence decision-making in the youth custody sector and shape the nature and quality of provision that children are permitted to access. The consequences associated with this include further fragmentation of prison provision for children, an imbalance in the types of custodial place made available, (with children disproportionately contained in the cheapest type of provision), geographical discrepancies and persistent high re-offending rates. The concern with the costs of custody is particularly prominent in a society subject to ‘austerity’ measures across a wide range of public services, particularly in the criminal justice sector (Ismail, 2020). However, it is inconsistent with contemporary knowledge and understanding of children in custody, their needs and their vulnerabilities. The transformation supposedly sought is unlikely to materialize while annual cost-per-child place is a dominant driving force. Instead, we need to start with an understanding of what individual support children in prison need in order to be ‘education ready’.