Demonstrate an understanding of Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS). Explain how people serve the sentences and orders handed out by courts, both in prisons and in the community.

Apply learning to consider how prisons are run in England and Wales, including the HM Prison Service that manages the public-sector prisons and contracts run by the private sector.

Communicate subject specific ideas, problems and solutions clearly and succinctly.

Demonstrate teamworking skills and the ability to treat others with empathy and respect,

1. An assessed role play based on an industry devised problem requiring the demonstration of communication skills and the application of offender management techniques (assessing learning outcomes 1-4)

2. A five-hundred-word report based on the role play scenario.

Working towards the assessment tasks will be a key element of the learning, and tutors and HMPPS staff will be available to guide students through the process. Face to face contact and/or blended sessions focussed on assessment activities will be scheduled into the timetable.


Learners will have the opportunity to receive formative feedback on their draft coursework during the module

The module facilitates learners to study the functions of the Ministry of Justice, and Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS), the OMiC model, Contracted Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (YOIs), Secure Training Centres, Secure Children Homes and Youth Offending Teams and prisoner escort services. The module follows the offender’s progress through the Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) process.

Issues covered include:

Delivering the sentences and orders of the court

Establishing positive, safe, secure and decent environments for managing offenders and delivering offender services reducing reoffending and protecting the public

Theories around control and restraint

Categorisation

Deaths and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

Women’s Prisons

Prison reform

Close Supervision Centres

Escort Service

This module is a core module on the Offender Management pathways and has been designed to provide you with a detailed knowledge of contemporary offender management policies and procedures. The module will prepare you for employment in the custodial sector and many of the sessions are delivered by staff from HMPSS. You will have the opportunity to test your skills in role-play scenarios.

The learning strategy for this module is based around students committing a total of 200 hours of activities, split between 52 hours of direct contact with a tutor and 148 hours of directed and independent study, together with preparation for and completion of assessment tasks.

WHOLE GROUP SESSIONS

In these sessions, students are introduced to the general concepts underlying the subject and provided with an outline of the relevant legal principles and cases. Teaching materials, including the use of the VLE platform, supplement the sessions. These sessions guide students towards consolidating their knowledge and understanding

SMALLER GROUP SESSIONS

These are preceded by a period of independent learning. The module materials contain indicative reading for each session, together with subjects for discussion and case studies. The purpose of the smaller group sessions is to help students assess their understanding of a topic, to develop analytical skills, and to learn how to apply criminological principles to factual situations. For all smaller group sessions, there are questions to help guide reading and preparation. The sessions encourage active participation and interaction among students and between students and tutors. A variety of teaching methods is adopted to encourage the development of essential skills such as intellectual rigour, communication, problem solving, research, teamwork, negotiation, presentation, referencing, judgement and the appropriate use of IT

DIRECTED AND INDEPENDENT STUDY (148 hours)

Independent study includes research and preparation for the work to be undertaken in the smaller group sessions and consolidation of understanding afterwards. Directed study opportunities, such as online tests, are provided to enable students to revise key topics at important stages in the module. Directed and independent study aims to develop a deeper understanding of issues within this area of criminological research. Students are provided with guidance in their module materials, including via Blackboard. Completion of the tasks encourages students to assess their progress, identify strengths and weaknesses and manage their time more effectively.

Pre-seen guidance to support research for the assessment is provided.¿

A flat lecture/workshop computer lab/room flexible enough for small group work and a computer and projector for tutor led PowerPoint presentations.

Teams/Blackboard Virtual environment will be available to support this module. Details will be supplied in the module handbook

Burke, L. and Gosling, H., 2022. An introduction to penology: punishment, prisons and probation. London: SAGE Publications.
Canton, R. and Dominey, J., 2018. Probation. 2nd ed. London; New York: Routledge.
Small, L.M. and Hackett, P.M.W., 2023. Offender rehabilitation programmes: The role of the prison officer. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.
Ugwudike, P., Graham, H., McNeill, F., Raynor, P., Taxman, F.S. and Trotter, C. eds., 2020. The Routledge companion to rehabilitative work in criminal justice. Milton: Routledge.
Vipond, R., 2023. A guide to prisons and penal policy: Prisons unlocked. Bristol: Policy Press.