Prisoners' Education Trust

Handwritten quote that reads: "I cannot thank PET enough for giving me a great opportunity. I’m super grateful and await to see what the future will present to me in the teaching field in prisons. You are changing lives and I am definitely one of them."

Education can be the key to unlocking a brighter future for someone in prison. Your support means more learners like Robin can lay the foundations for a new career.

Support our Big Give #ChristmasChallenge to have your donation doubled today: https://bit.ly/PET-BigGive-2

Photo of the panel at the PET supporter event.

Thanks to everyone who joined our supporter event last night!

Inspiring stories from alumnus Andy, trustee Seun, our Head of Service Delivery Clare, and Esther Chesterman - CEO at National Extension College - perfectly summed up the impact education can have for people in prison.

Laying foundations, building futures – Big Give PET provides distance learning courses and advice and guidance to people in prison. These courses help learners lay the foundations …

Our Big Give #ChristmasChallenge is now live! This Christmas, we hope to raise just over £45,000 to fund 66 distance learning courses for people in prison.

From today, any donation made to PET via the Big Give website will be DOUBLED.

https://bit.ly/PET-BigGive-2

Prospectus front cover and contents page

Introducing our 2026–2027 Course Prospectus – PET's most forward-looking and accessible edition yet!

The prospectus includes cutting-edge courses on AI and environmental sustainability, as well as new digital learning opportunities.

Read it here: prisonerseducation.org.uk/2025/12/new-...

Maidstone prison teaches inmates to run farm on site - BBC News The farm holds cattle, sheep and pigs – some of which are named after prison officers.

It's always great to see positive coverage of work that prisons are doing, like this farm in East Sutton Park.

One person said, for example, that "Farming, to me, is really special. I found it to be a brilliant escape from everything I've ever known".

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It is outrageous that all YOIs in England are delivering less than children's legally mandated 15 hours education a week.

When we hold young people in detention, we must give them the building blocks for a better future. The Government must put education first, for all young people in custody.

England's three YOIs fail 15-hour education requirement None of England’s young offender institutions provided children in their care with the education they were entitled to during the last three years reveals probe

For the nearly 300 children in England's YOIs, access to education is restricted, with some spending more than 22 hours a day locked in their cells. This cannot be tolerated by the government any longer: it must put education first.

https://ow.ly/q54w50XwMJ1

Crime-cutting jobs plan sees hundreds of firms join hiring drive Britain’s biggest businesses have joined the Government’s hiring drive to get prison leavers into work in effort to cut crime as part of the Plan for Change.

It’s always good to see more employers committed to employing prison leavers.

But it’s also vital to get prison education working properly, so people in prison can get the skills and qualifications that employers need.

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Join The Movement Join The Movement “The way individuals are treated in prison affects their chances of rehabilitation in tangible and intangible ways. Tangibly, access to opportunities like training courses, prison jobs and behaviour management programmes affects offenders’ ability to cope without reoffending when they leave prison. Intangibly, the extent to which prisoners believe they are treated fairly…

We are joining the Zahid Mubarek Trust’s Movement for Race Equality in Prisons.

We support their call for renewed ambition, action and accountability on race equality across the prison system.

Find out more about the movement and how to join here ⬇️

‘Dire’ prison conditions putting rehabilitation and reoffending reduction ‘at risk’, Justice Committee warns - Committees - UK Parliament Prison overcrowding, staffing shortages and deteriorating infrastructure is having a ‘profound impact on the ability of prisons to deliver rehabilitation’, a new report published today (No...

The Justice Committee's new report highlights the dire state our prisons are in. The government needs to set out an ambitious plan to provide consistent access to high-quality education and training. The first step should be reversing cuts to budgets that will only make a bad situation worse.

Our trustees - Prisoners' Education Trust PET’s board of trustees has a wide range of experience in prison education, social policy, finance and charity management.

A big thank you to PET's trustees this #TrusteesWeek. It was brilliant to spend time together at our away day recently - seeing their passion, commitment and generosity first hand.

Some have even gone the extra mile literally: Seun ran the Royal Parks Half last month and has raised nearly £600!

Text of a recommendation on increasing access to education and training in prison.

Good to see this recommendation on increasing access to education and training in today’s Justice Select Committee report on drugs in prison.

committees.parliament.uk/committee/10...

Nice to read about something positive in the prison system - the work of @libertychoiruk.bsky.social!

Teachers made redundant as prison education slashed by 20 per cent HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) has been told that education provision across all prisons in England and Wales has been cut by around 20 to 25 per cent. The reduction in service affects existing …

This is great from Tom Wheatley, President of the Prison Governors’ Association, on what we miss out on by cutting prison education budgets:

“With enough staff, in those prisons where the regime works, the atmosphere changes. Disorder and debt shrink. Violence falls. Staff job satisfaction climbs."

MPs to examine education and employment opportunities for Welsh prisoners MPs are set to examine education and employment opportunities for Welsh prisoners at a meeting in the Palace of Westminster.

I'm looking forward to giving evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee on prison education in Wales this afternoon, with @stgilestrust.bsky.social and Estyn . Lots to cover, including funding, breadth of provision and digital learning.

www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/2557747...

ESC and HMP High Down collaborate on innovative prisoner rehabilitation project - East Surrey College East Surrey College and HMP High Down have been driving an initiative, called ‘Greys to Green’, that will transform learning opportunities and rehabilitation for prisoners. The collaborative project, which has been funded by the Mayor of London, aligns with the government’s Reducing Reoffending Plan.    The two-year long collaboration has finally reached its goal in installing an Immersive Suite in the prison in Sutton. It will be used to prepare those nearing the end of their sentence for reintegration into society, by equipping them with employable skills within the green technology...

Great to read about this partnership between East Surrey College and HMP High Down, funded by the Mayor of London.

The project helps people nearing the end of their sentence prepare for the future by equipping them with green technology skills in an innovative Immersive Suite in the prison.

Today's @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social report on work and training is worrying yet unsurprising. The government needs to fix prison regimes and the first step should be reversing cuts to education budgets that will only make a bad situation worse.

hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

Quote from David: “I'm very pleased to be running for PET. It supports prisoners who want to change their lives for the better. That has to be good for us all. There are not many charities that work in this sector so even small donations help.”

Congratulations and thank you to all the amazing runners who ran the Royal Parks Half for PET - we are so grateful for your support!

Every donation, big or small, helps people prepare for release, improve their mental health and find hope for a brighter future: https://ow.ly/iQUX50X9g5j

Quote from Liv that reads: “I have been following PET and supporting them for some years now as I think what they do is such essential work to help those in prison (often forgotten by society) to become not only valued members of society again, but also, and perhaps more importantly, to have self-worth and self-belief again.”

Good luck to everyone running the Royal Parks Half today! We have six wonderful runners fundraising for PET.

Here’s why Liv is choosing to run for us today. You can support her efforts here: https://ow.ly/2gaw50X9egO

Quote from Jonan that reads: “The reason I am running for PET is because my immediate family and friends have all been through the prison system. Running for PET helps bring more awareness to a great cause.”

So far this year, we have funded 1,210 distance learning courses for learners in prison.

Jonan is running the Royal Parks Half on Sunday so that more people in prison can access transformative education: https://ow.ly/Cbxu50X9clG

Quote from Ashton, PET RPHM runner: "I am running because I worked with prisoners education in the past in America and I worked with GCSE resits in the UK, and in both cases saw how education can improve self efficacy, changing people's deep beliefs about what they are capable of and what purpose their life can have. This is very meaningful to people's mental health and providing education which gives people the tools to enter the work and volunteer force allows us as a society to discover the great contributions everyone can make."

Thank you so much to all our amazing runners who will be running the Royal Parks Half this Sunday to fundraise for PET. We can't wait to cheer from the sidelines!

You can help Ashton reach her target here: www.justgiving.com/page/ashton-...

I've had a look at the prison education statistics for last year and there's some good news in there, albeit very modest and from a low starting point.

Hard to see how that will be sustained, though, with upcoming budget cuts about to hit provision that was already chronically underfunded.

Small gains in prison education at risk from budget cuts Jon Collins of the Prisoners' Education Trust reviews the latest performance figures in the shadow of looming budget cuts.

Small gains in prison education at risk from budget cuts
@jonbcollins.bsky.social of @prisonersed.bsky.social reviews the latest performance figures in the shadow of looming budget cuts.
www.russellwebster.com/small-gains-...

Good to see @feweek.bsky.social covering the recent @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social report on child custody.

Young people are spending far too much time in their cell and not enough time in classrooms or doing other positive activities.

Outcomes remain worryingly poor for children in custody An annual review of survey responses from children in custody has revealed that many continue to feel unsafe, are failing to get to education and feel uncared for by staff.

While young people in the community are starting a new school year or preparing for college or university, young people in custody are sitting in their cell doing and learning nothing.

There should be no more excuses. It’s time for a complete reset of youth custody that puts education first.

Richard's fundraiser for Prisoners' Education Trust Help Richard Farrant raise money to support Prisoners' Education Trust

A huge, huge thank you to Richard Farrant, who's currently celebrating his 80th birthday by cycling from John O'Groats to Lands End and is raising money for @prisonersed.bsky.social.

If you can contribute at all, I'm sure that'd help him on his way.

www.justgiving.com/page/richard...

'Prison education funding cuts are a serious misstep'
@jonbcollins.bsky.social of @prisonersed.bsky.social on how new research shows most prisoners were failed by the education system. Prison education budget-cutting risks failing them twice

"Anything is possible, if you try hard enough" - The Longford Trust One Frank Award scholar reflected on how education has changed him, as he graduated with an MSc at a ceremony held in prison.

The Frank Awards - a joint programme between @longfordtrust.bsky.social and PET - help people in prison to start a degree with @openuniversity.bsky.social.

At his graduation ceremony, held in prison and attended by his family, a Frank Award holder spoke about what getting a degree meant for him 👇

How Bamboo Bicycle Club is helping to break the prison cycle Meet the engineer inspiring inmates to forge a new future

Another eye-catching new initiative: teaching people in prison to build bikes from bamboo.

Bamboo Bicycle Club runs a six-week bike-building course at HMP Lowdham Grange. The curriculum starts with theory lessons on workshop safety and bamboo, then spans product design, mechanics and business.

Prison experience inspires Brighton graduate’s powerful poetry anthology An ex prisoner who turned to poetry as a lifeline in jail has published his debut anthology, shaped by his postgraduate studies at the University of Brighton.

Over a four-year sentence that saw him moved between six prisons, Will Pendray carried his notebooks with him, using poetry as the one constant in an often traumatic journey.

He's now published his debut anthology after gaining an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Brighton.