Novus secures prison education contract at Wellingborough's HMP Five Wells prison

The contract, which marks the continuation of a strong relationship between Novus and private prison provider G4S, will see Novus provide the education provision at HMP Five Wells to support learners in developing the skills they will need to thrive upon release, and help reduce cycles of reoffending.

To support this expansion Novus is actively recruiting for English, maths and vocational tutors to help make sure that the provision on site offers a wide range of opportunities to support offenders to be job ready upon completion of their sentence.

Peter Cox, managing director at Novus, said: “We are very pleased to have been awarded the contract for HMP Five Wells and to be working with G4S once again.

"We are looking forward to offering a new, improved service to learners at HMP Five Wells, helping to support them in their rehabilitative journey.

“Ministry of Justice research has shown that engagement in prison education is proven to reduce reoffending by 7.5 percentage points, so we know that educational programmes which support offenders to gain skills that will be needed to secure stable employment upon release can make a huge positive social impact.

“We are looking forward to working with G4S to maximise our impact and ensure that learners have the opportunity to access high-quality programmes of education in order to gain the skills that are so vital for breaking cycles of reoffending.”

Pete Small, the new prison director at HMP Five Wells, said: “Having enjoyed a very successful partnership in my previous role at Rye Hill I am delighted to be able to work alongside Novus again at Five Wells.

"Novus has an excellent record of delivery and I am certain that they will make significant improvements to the regime and outcomes for prisoners at Five Wells.

"I look forward to working with Novus to embed the importance of education across the establishment.”

In a recent survey commissioned by Novus, 55 per cent of voters in the UK said that prisons should focus on rehabilitation more than punishment, with 60 per cent of respondents saying that educating prisoners and developing their skills is a good way to use taxpayers’ money.

When told that reoffending costs the economy £18 billion every year according to Ministry of Justice data and that education is proven to reduce reoffending by 7.5 percentage points, support for educating prisoners and developing their skills increased to 68 per cent.

To find out more about the available careers working for Novus at HMP Five Wells visit Prison Education Vacancies | Novus.

Just last month the Northants Telegraph reported that HMP Five Wells was set to see Pete Small take over as the new director following the move of the current boss to another prison.

Mr Small – who is the prison’s fourth director in two years - has replaced Will Styles, who was recently appointed as the director at HMP and YOI Parc in Bridgend.