It is seldom that you hear a teenager say they love school. And given the rough time that many young offenders have had with their schooling, it's little surprise to find that they are bitter about the education system. For those young people taken into custody, however, it is essential that they can continue with their learning. The question is, what sort of education provision is available to them?

The Youth Justice Board sets the minimum standards and funds education in the juvenile estate, but it is up to the Prison Service to deliver it in young offender institutions. Exactly what is on offer varies between institutions.

"There is an inconsistent educational provision throughout the juvenile secure estate, and some juvenile prisons are better than others," says Chris Callender, assistant director of the Howard League for Penal Reform. He believes that the education on offer fails to meet the needs of individual children, and criticises the lack of diverse courses available to study beyond GCSE maths and English.

His organisation recently took on a case involving a young man who had been studying for eight GCSEs before receiving a six-month detention and training order. Even though his secondary school was supportive and had registered him for his exams, he could not continue studying his GCSE subjects once in prison.

Prison Reform Trust senior policy officer Enver Solomon says: "The resources and regimes for juveniles contrast starkly with those that await them after their 18th birthday." While the YJB has worked hard in recent years to improve education and skills provision for juveniles, this has not fed through to the older age group of young adult offenders.

The target is to provide 25 hours a week of core curriculum education to young offenders in YOIs, but not all of them receive that many hours, says Robert Newman, the YJB's head of education and training policy. "There have been problems providing appropriate teaching environments, such as classrooms and workshops," he says.

Over the past three years, the YJB has tried to address the facilities shortage by providing £13m of funding to build and adapt buildings. For young offenders, gaining qualifications is vital, as they can provide the ticket into employment.

But gaps in education persist. "The internal systems are not fully working and communications systems with outside agencies still need further development," says David Hawker, vice-chair of the Association of Directors of Education and Children's Services.

Solomon says the "appalling" reconviction rate for this age group will get worse if they are not provided with quality education and training.

He adds: "If custody can offer no more than humane containment, there is little hope of diverting a young offender away from a life of crime."

This point is picked up by Callender, who says that children and young people will be "no better equipped to avoid offending and leading productive lives on release" if their educational needs go unmet.

More resources, more courses, and more qualified teachers - these are the things needed to improve the education on offer to young offenders. As Callender suggests, one alternative that doesn't have resource implications is for children and young people to be temporarily released from custody so that they can attend local colleges.

This would not only enable young offenders to receive the education that they rightly deserve, but would also allow them to maintain links with their community. These two things combined are fundamental if these vulnerable young people are to be prevented from reoffending.