The Ministry of Justice is looking for SMEs, further education colleges and higher education institutions, specialist training providers and third sector organisations to support and complement the core educational offer in prisons.
The Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System
Successful providers will be added to a new Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System (PEDPS) to provide prison Governors with a flexible commissioning route for short to medium term needs and one-off requirements.
The PEDPS will have an open end-date with no set duration and the estimated spend is £35 million per year. All interested providers are encouraged to join during the initial selection stage which runs until 17th October 2018. An ongoing selection stage will start in November 2018.
For more details and to view the tender documents please register on the Ministry of Justice sourcing portal.
Working with the Ministry of Justice
Gateway Qualifications is one of only four Awarding Organisations selected by the Ministry of Justice for their Core Common Curriculum, and has extensive experience of working with providers of prison education. The flexibility and accessibility of our qualifications and assessments are especially suitable for use in the meeting the unique needs of the secure environment.
Relevant expertise
Areas identified in the tender where we have a particular expertise include,
Services to support individuals with Additional Learning Needs
Our long track record working in this area, along with our coherent suite of Entry Level qualifications will support providers delivering areas including;
- Learning for work
- Preparing for independence
Preparation for work and Information Advice and Guidance services
Flexible qualifications in Employability and Enterprise will support delivery of areas including;
- CV writing and job applications
- Interview skills
- Work practice
- Setting up a small business
- Teamwork
- Presentation skills
- IAG services
Life skills
Focusing on the wider “soft skills” has always been a feature of our qualification development and our Personal Development and Life Skills and Progression qualifications will help with areas including;
- Financial literacy
- Budgeting
- Building relationships
- Parenting
- Home Economics
- First Aid
- Personal Care and Hygiene
Vocational Areas
There are also opportunities in a number of vocational areas, where our flexible qualifications from Entry Level to Level 2 allow you to;
- match qualifications to individual learner needs whilst maintaining coherent offer,
- Provide multiple entry points through the year to optimise class sizes and learner routes into courses
- Co-teach employability skills across vocational areas
Contact us to find out more
To discuss how we might support you with your offender learning offer, please contact us and ask to speak to your Development Manager.