Poster: A project that explores the assessment experiences of students in secure environments (SiSE) studying level 1 sport and fitness modules.

This project will investigate the assessment experiences of SiSE learners studying Level One modules (E117 E119) of the Sports programme. The study will adopt a qualitative approach to explore the pedagogical and contextual factors that impact the learning of these students. 

The project will focus on learning more about OU Sports programme SiSE learners and tutors’ experiences with summative assessment materials (ICMAs and TMAs) within English Prisons.  

 In keeping with the ethos ‘open to all’, The Open University (OU) has provided higher education opportunities to students in secure environments (SiSE) for over 40 years, currently reaching over 150 secure environments (Open University, 2020). Many such students have less-than-ideal educational backgrounds, for example, many SiSE students have experienced a history of disrupted education, with 60% of adult prisoners having been suspended/temporarily excluded from school (MacFarlane and Pike, 2018). SiSE students who enroll with the OU often have low prior levels of academic qualifications. Many SiSE students do not complete their qualifications; the reasons for this are multifactorial and may include confidence and competence within their subject, general study skills, in-unit restrictions, or financial concerns. This may have significant long-term implications in terms of their future employability. Whilst some secure units make use of Virtual Campus, which allows students in secure units to access a ‘cut down’ version of the internet, it is apparent that this is not always available for all students, and hence SiSE are not able to participate in any wider research to complete their ICMAs/TMAs in the most effective way. Education should be aspirational. It must offer a learning journey that is truly transformational and enables progression to higher levels (Ministry of Justice 2016) For prison students the OU tutor is about the future. This is one of the few people a prison student meets who has nothing to do with the past’.