A PIONEERING partnership is bringing education to inmates and staff at a Durham prison.

Low Newton is thought to be the country's first jail with Learning Prison status thanks to a scheme involving County Durham's Learning and Skills Council and New College Durham.

The scheme will strengthen the work of the prison's education department by widening access to work-related learning opportunities for prisoners.

A physical learning shop will be easily accessible on one of the jail's main wings and will be open at set times in the evenings and at weekends to encourage participation in learning.

A range of subjects, from literacy and numeracy to information technology skills and other work-related skills will be covered.

The prison will build on its Investor in People award to encourage staff to undertake work and leisure-related learning.

Learning Prison co-ordinator Martin Dajoux said: "This is a great opportunity for the Prison Service to show that it not only wants to improve the education and work-related skills of the prisoners, but also that it is committed to helping its major resource, its staff, to improve themselves too.

"Achieving this goal will improve the standards of care inside prisons and, hopefully, decrease reoffending, which can only be beneficial for society as a whole."

Learning and Skills Council partnership development officer Jan Knox said: "People are learners whatever their status and we want to encourage a culture where prisoners and staff see themselves as lifelong learners."