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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 4d

This is a terrific article on pub closures, including looking at the Trafalgar near me in Colliers Wood.

It’s so impressive what @londonermag.bsky.social, and @jim.londoncentric.media’s @londoncentric.media, are doing for London journalism.

www.the-londoner.co.uk/trafalgar-wi...

They claim to save London pubs. So why have they shut so many down?

Linea Homes has been called the “grim reaper” of pubs. Their targets include some of Peckham, Wimbledon and Camden’s most iconic boozers.

www.the-londoner.co.uk

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 9d

Yes, absolutely! Couldn’t agree more. Evidence is clear on both the benefits and that investing in education is cost effective.

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 9d

I've had a look at the prison education statistics for last year and there's some good news in there, albeit very modest and from a low starting point.

Hard to see how that will be sustained, though, with upcoming budget cuts about to hit provision that was already chronically underfunded.

Russell Webster @russellwebster.com · 9d

Small gains in prison education at risk from budget cuts
@jonbcollins.bsky.social of @prisonersed.bsky.social reviews the latest performance figures in the shadow of looming budget cuts.
www.russellwebster.com/small-gains-...

Small gains in prison education at risk from budget cuts

Jon Collins of the Prisoners' Education Trust reviews the latest performance figures in the shadow of looming budget cuts.

www.russellwebster.com

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 13d

Good to see @feweek.bsky.social covering the recent @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social report on child custody.

Young people are spending far too much time in their cell and not enough time in classrooms or doing other positive activities.

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 15d

More than a third of children in custody spend less than two hours a day out of their cell during the week. More than half spend less than two hours a day out of their cell on weekends.

Young people who've already been failed by the system are being failed again.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · 15d

In this year's Children in custody report, many of the issues identified in our 2023-24 inspections remained.

Find out more about some of our key findings in the infographic below.

Read the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

Bar graphs that show how safety was still not good enough, how for some children, relationships with staff were poor, and how time out of cell varied across establishments.

Donut charts that show who the children in our survey are. 99% identified as male; 1 in 3 reported having a disability; including any physical, mental or learning needs that affected their day-to-day live; 2 in 5 were unsentenced or on remand and 10% reported having children of their own.

Donut charts that show some groups continue to be overrepresented: 33% were Muslim, 8% were from the Traveller community, 63% were from an ethnic group other than white, 46% had health problems (including mental health) and 65% reported having been in local authority care.

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 16d

This is great, but have they forgotten to put your name on it?

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 16d

I’ve written an article for @feweek.bsky.social on why prison education matters and why budgets cuts are a mistake.

FE Week @feweek.bsky.social · 18d

'Prison education funding cuts are a serious misstep'
@jonbcollins.bsky.social of @prisonersed.bsky.social on how new research shows most prisoners were failed by the education system. Prison education budget-cutting risks failing them twice

feweek.co.uk

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 18d

A huge, huge thank you to Richard Farrant, who's currently celebrating his 80th birthday by cycling from John O'Groats to Lands End and is raising money for @prisonersed.bsky.social.

If you can contribute at all, I'm sure that'd help him on his way.

www.justgiving.com/page/richard...

Richard's fundraiser for Prisoners' Education Trust

Help Richard Farrant raise money to support Prisoners' Education Trust

www.justgiving.com

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 22d

Good to see the Law Society calling for more investment in prison education in their response to the Sentencing Bill.

www.lawsociety.org.uk/contact-or-v...

Text of a statement from the Law Society calling for sustained investment across the criminal justice system.

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 22d

This is v.good by @cassiarowland.bsky.social on the Sentencing Bill, including the potential benefits of earned progression if it can be implemented properly if/when current pressures on the prison system subside.

Cassia Rowland @cassiarowland.bsky.social · 22d

Let's face it, it's not often I get to say nice things about what's happening in criminal justice. But the Sentencing Bill, up before the Commons today, is an exception! It's not perfect, but there's lots to like and the gov should hold firm against pressure to water down proposals. 🧵

The government is taking the right approach to sentencing reform | Institute for Government

There is a lot to welcome in the Sentencing Bill.

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 22d

Good article by @shipleywrites.bsky.social looking at cuts to prison education budgets.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/cutt...

Cutting prison education is a calamity

Prisons across the country are slashing education funding. According to the Guardian, public money for prison education courses is being reduced by almost 50 per cent. As a result, basic English and m...

www.spectator.co.uk

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 23d

I see the prison population's down another 467 this week. Do you have any idea what's driving it?

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 23d

(Apparently even the MoJ doesn’t know…)

Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 23d

No, it’s not 50% across the board. It might be close to 50% in a few but it’ll be significantly less than that in most I think. The PGA says at least 5% in most prisons. But there’s no published data so there’s no way to know for sure.

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 24d

Here's the story for this: inews.co.uk/news/welder-...

It's a proposal from Make UK Defence and the Fair Chance Business Alliance for an apprenticeship scheme that would help people leaving prison into skilled jobs in the defence industry.

George Mann @sgfmann.bsky.social · 24d

i Sport: Prisoners will help to build warships under new plan to boost UK defences #TomorrowsPapersToday

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 24d

The new prison education contracts do not address current chronic underfunding, with rising costs leaving some prisons facing substantial cuts.

The government should look again at finding more funding to enable people to use their time in prison constructively.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Prisons in England and Wales to cut spending on education courses by up to 50%

Move comes despite election manifesto promises from Keir Starmer to improve ‘access to learning’

www.theguardian.com

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · 29d

This is a good article on a prison-university partnership in the US.

Russell Webster @russellwebster.com · 29d

‘You want to talk about a world of lies?’
Teaching philosophy in prison
Jay Miller in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...

‘You want to talk about a world of lies?’ Teaching philosophy in prison | Jay Miller

The long read: My class of college students and inmates can get loud and rowdy, with everyone engaged. This is what philosophy should look like

www.theguardian.com

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · Sep 8

Two-fifths of people in Wormwood Scrubs spend at least 22.5 hours per day in their cell. Just grim.

HMI Prisons @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social · Sep 8

HMP Wormwood Scrubs: drugs and time out of cell among problems.

Read the inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=hm...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=ne...

See the healthy prison scores:

Bar chart showing healthy prison scores at Wormwood Scrubs in 2025 compared with 2021. Safety had declined from reasonably good to not sufficiently good; respect remained reasonably good, purposeful activity had declined from not sufficiently good to poor; preparation for release remained not sufficiently good.

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · Sep 8

I see that Jake Richards is also joining (possibly replacing Nic Dakin?).

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · Sep 5

Good to see innovative things - in this case a workshop teaching people to build bikes out of bamboo - happening in prisons despite all the current challenges. And also good to see the value of family connections being realised.

www.ft.com/content/6ebe...

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · Sep 5

Oh well...

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · Sep 5

Will be interesting to see if there's a change at the MoJ. Lots of people seem to be tipping Shabana for a promotion but surely -surely! - it'd be sensible to leave her in place to complete the reforms she's started.

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Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · Sep 5

This is a really *excellent* album. Very much recommended.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Sep 5

Big Thief: Double Infinity review – folk-rock perfection will restore your faith in humanity

Classic melodies, spring water acoustics and pared-back poeticism about living in the moment fill Adrianne Lenker and co’s latest with life

www.theguardian.com

Jon Collins @jonbcollins.bsky.social · Aug 20

These are consistently great and this one is no exception.

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · Aug 20

oh hey, the latest edition of my sports column is out! observer.co.uk/news/columni...

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Reposted by Jon Collins

Prisoners' Education Trust @prisonersed.bsky.social · Aug 16

There's still time to apply for our Policy Manager role! The closing date for applications is this Monday at 5pm.

Help us influence prison education policy and improve educational experiences for people in prison. Apply here 👇

Policy Manager - Prisoners' Education Trust

Prisoners’ Education Trust is looking for a Policy Manager to play a key role in our work at a critical time for prison education policy.

prisonerseducation.org.uk

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