PET’s Head of Fundraising and External Affairs, Cassie Edmiston, reflects on how we have helped people in prison find hope in 2025.
“O no, it is an ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken”
William Shakespeare was talking about love, but it is a line that I have thought about often this year.
When reading course applications and feedback from learners, I have been reminded of PET as “an ever-fixed mark”. In a year when we gave our 50,000th educational award, we are an important and constant source of support for those who want to learn in prison.
An ever-fixed mark for learners
With ongoing challenges around overcrowding and other pressures on the system, it has been another difficult year for those living and working in prisons.
Despite this turbulent environment, during the year we helped 1,741 people start courses. This was a brilliant achievement, and thanks to your wonderful donations.
We worked hard to improve our reach and support to learners in prison, appointing three new trustees to help with our mission. Our Lived Experience Consultants shared the progress we made.
Just this month we launched our new course prospectus. Featuring 120 courses, the prospectus is critical to helping learners and staff know what we offer and how they can access our information, advice and guidance. This edition features 12 new courses including Understanding Environmental Sustainability and Introduction to Black Studies.
Getting connected
Our commitment to digital learning continued and it has been exciting to see our work in this area grow. We reflected on our learning from creating short digital courses and what this means for our digital plans looking ahead.
We have also just published our briefing, Getting connected: Digital provision and education in prison. It calls for a long-term government strategy for digital learning in prison to bridge the divide between prisons and the community. You can read my blog about the briefing here.
Importantly we ensured the experiences of learners in prison remained central to all our work. The reflections of Omar and Andy, so generously shared with us all, demonstrate the importance of education provision which is tailored to individual need and interest.
Working together with prison staff
During the year, our support for prison education staff was a key focus. They work incredibly hard in difficult circumstances and we are grateful to them for their commitment to education and distance learning.
We continued to curate the prison staff area of our website, deliver training and induction sessions, and visit prisons whenever possible too.
A tempestuous year
Throughout 2025, we have championed putting education at the heart of prison reform – responding to multiple select committee inquiries and consultations.
In October, new prison education contracts were introduced which resulted in redundancies and budget cuts in prisons across England. We wrote about why these cuts risk failing people already let down by the education system before prison and we will continue to push the government to reverse them.
Your support, never shaken
Thanks to you, we have been able to make surefooted progress during the year – whether you donated to PET or amplified our work in your community or online.
Just this month you heroically donated to PET’s Big Give Christmas Challenge, raising a record £46,939! Your support will help us reach our target of funding 1,800 distance learning courses for people in prison next year.
“The star to every wand’ring bark”
In Shakespeare’s sonnet he writes that love is like a guiding star to every lost ship.
In a prison system that can make people feel lost and small, it is more important than ever that PET is that guide, an ever-fixed mark. That is only possible thanks to you, standing with us and facing the tempest.
Thank you for your belief in the power of education and your commitment to learners in prison.
I’ll leave you with the words of Adam, who we funded for a Creative Writing course in July:
If you celebrate, I wish you a happy Christmas, and I wish you all a restful festive break.