Novus to Deliver New Prisoner Education Service Across the North of England

We are pleased to announce that, from today, we have begun delivering the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) new Prisoner Education Service (PES) across all public prisons in the North of England.

Following a successful procurement process,  Novus will deliver Core Education in four northern regions for up to seven years:

• Lot 3: Cumbria and Lancashire Group 
• Lot 4: Tees and Wear Groups
• Lot 6: Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire Group 
• Lot 11: Yorkshire Group 

Unlike under the previous Prison Education Framework (PEF) contracts, the new Lots include the women’s prison estate and Category A high security prisons. We would like to offer a warm welcome to colleagues from the five new high security sites, as they join the Novus team today.

We are also pleased to confirm that Novus’ existing PEF contract for the West Midlands will continue for an interim period, while the procurement process for the new PES Lot takes place.

With Novus already holding further contracts to deliver education in prisons across the private and public estate in England and Wales, today’s announcement means that Novus will continue to be the biggest prison education provider in England and Wales.

Peter Cox, Managing Director of Novus, said: “As a result of the new Prisoner Education Service contracts, Novus will be the exclusive supplier of education services in public prisons across the entire North of England.

“For more than three decades Novus has been providing high-quality education and training in the prison estate, working with learners who are the furthest from the labour market. We are proud of our track record in supporting individuals into employment after release, as well as the innovative practice led by our committed teams of education professionals across the country.

We look forward to working closely with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to help more people turn their lives around under PES.