OLASS Matrix Success
LMC Raises the Standard in Offender Learning
Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) teams at six prisons across Lancashire are celebrating the achievement of Matrix accreditation. The prison departments, where Lancaster and Morecambe College is the lead provider for offender learning and skills, all earned the Standard by passing comprehensive Matrix assessments with glowing reports.
The teams, led by Sue Keenan, Deputy Offender Learning Manager at LMC, worked extremely hard to prepare for the assessment visit and the learner feedback confirmed the excellent standards of IAG received by the students.
The Matrix Standard is the national quality standard for any organisation that delivers information, advice and/or guidance on learning and work. Lancaster and Morecambe College Student Services Department at the main site is also Matrix accredited.
David Wood, Principal, Lancaster and Morecambe College said, ‘I am very proud of my staff who provide a highly professional service to over six thousand learners in prisons. Achieving the Matrix Standard demonstrates the college’s commitment to providing the best possible service to enable offenders to gain the right qualifications and for them to progress into employment or further training.’
The Matrix assessor, Christine Smarts, highlighted some key strengths of the services including the clarity of leadership and direction which has enabled the sustainable development of the IAG service, the policies and procedures that define the service, the holistic approach to IAG and the commitment to continual quality improvement.
Lancaster Farms were commended for ‘the placement of the learner at the centre of the service that is embedded in everything the IAG team pursues’.
Across all the prisons, LMC staff ‘were all agreed that they were encouraged to work in partnership with the prison service to ensure they could provide the most appropriate support to learners’.
The assessor was ‘impressed by the clear focus on signposting to other organisations’ and stated that ‘learners clearly appreciated the information that they had received from the staff’.
‘A clear commitment to how the college is continuing to move offender learning into the mainstream framework in line with the Learning and Skills Council’s requirements’ was also noted.
Most importantly, one of the learners said ‘We think that they provide an excellent service. What we like is the way they are always looking out for new things for us to do and to develop our learning.’
Sheila Campbell, Director, Offender Learning and Skills Service, Lancaster and Morecambe College says, ‘IAG is central to the service we offer and our IAG teams are totally committed to improving the quality of that service. I’m delighted to have this validated by Matrix’.
As a result of the accreditation process LMC’s IAG service worked closely with other prison/partner agencies. This has led to a better, integrated service with improved ‘through the gate’ provision and a more coordinated approach to achieving education, training and employment targets.
