A prison in Dorset for sex offenders is making "insufficient progress" in meeting the curriculum needs of inmates.

Ofsted carried out a three day inspection of HMP The Verne, on Portland, between August 30 and September 1. Their findings were released earlier this week.

They said the prison was not providing inmates with enough "purposeful activity" and that "too many" of the nearly 600 prisoners were not being given useful things to do on a daily basis.

In addition they said an English course was not offered for those who had English as an addition language and "too much disruption" affected the ability of officers to accompany prisoners to activities.

An extract from the report reads: "Leaders’ actions to ensure that the curriculum meets prisoners’ needs have not been effective. The number of purposeful activity places is too low and fails to meet the needs of the population. Unemployment rates are high, with far too many prisoners not allocated to any purposeful activity during the core day.

"Prisoners complain of current routine and regular lockdowns that prevent them from leaving their accommodation block to attend scheduled activities."

The report acknowledged that "reasonable progress" was being made to identify and support those with additional learning needs.

In highlighting the progress, Ofsted said: "Since the previous inspection, over two years ago, leaders and managers have improved the ways in which they identify prisoners’ support and additional learning needs. They now assess prisoners carefully and much earlier, during prison induction, rather than when they start their education programmes. This enables staff to share prisoners’ requirements promptly with teachers and instructors."

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Since this inspection HMP The Verne has introduced a new employment hub that gives prisoners the skills and work experience to find a job when released, which cuts reoffending, protects the public and saves taxpayers money.”

The employment hub helps prisoners look for jobs in the 12 weeks leading up to their release: it includes CV workshops and helps provide access to bank accounts prior to release.

The delivery of forklift training is being explored with the prison's education provider.