PET’s Digital Content Officers, Cameron Smith and Osaze Tebong, reflect on what we learned from creating our first digital courses for people in prison.
While digital education in prisons holds great promise, the current landscape across England and Wales is highly uneven. Access to digital tools varies significantly between prisons, with some offering in-cell devices like laptops and tablets and others relying on a small number of shared computers for the entire population.
In an increasingly digital world, access to meaningful education in prison should not be limited to paper-based courses. Recognising this, PET – with funding from HMPPS – launched a new digital innovation project in June last year to enhance educational opportunities for learners in prisons across England and Wales.
A powerful impact
We developed seven self-paced digital taster courses with a strong focus on accessibility, interactivity and gamification – aiming to create a more engaging and effective learning experience.
All our courses were designed in collaboration with industry experts, some of whom had lived experience of the justice system. Additionally, PET were able to utilise the expertise of our Lived Experience Consultants (LECs) to offer insight into the course build.
The courses are:
- Reading for Pleasure with National Extension College
- Health and Fitness with Cell Workout
- Social Media and Digital Marketing with Inside Academy
- Music Production and Industry with InHouse Records
- Health and Safety with RRC International
- Green Skills with TEC Wales
- Nature Connectedness with University of Derby
In just a year, the project has made a powerful impact with 2,869 courses accessed in 95% of prisons across England and Wales.
We received lots of positive feedback from learners. One said, “I learnt a lot on the courses and they helped me interact with others”. Another told us, “The course furthered my knowledge and personal development.”
The interactive features included quizzes with instant feedback, crosswords, interactive images and much more. From the outset, we knew these would be important to supporting learners in prison. One learner said, “The quizzes helped bolster my understanding”, while another commented, “The interactive feature kept me engaged”.
Making the project a success
Effective communication was pivotal to the project’s success, particularly given the varied digital landscapes across prisons in England and Wales. Our communications strategy was carefully tailored to each prison, focusing on being approachable, transparent and responsive to technical challenges:
- We hosted two webinars – one for staff from the prison education provider Novus and another for broader education contacts – to explain course access, answer questions and generate interest
- To support staff and learners, we created two short explainer videos which were shared directly and on the prison staff resources area of our website
- We advertised to learners through National Prison Radio, prison TV channel Wayout TV, prison visits and posters
Fresh insights
After we rolled out the courses, we visited ten prisons across various categories in England and Wales to gain a fuller picture of how digital learning is currently experienced.
Each visit brought fresh insights — from how learners accessed courses and how staff engaged with the platforms, to what motivated learners and what barriers they faced. Alongside monthly data from HMPPS, this helped us build a richer understanding of both the successes and challenges of digital education in prisons.
Here’s what stood out:
Certificates matter more than we expected – one of the clearest messages, repeated by both learners and staff, was the importance of certificates. We didn’t offer them initially. But they weren’t just a nice-to-have; they were a key motivator. Without them, course completion was lower than anticipated.
Learners wanted something tangible to show for their efforts, both for personal satisfaction and for practical use in sentence progression meetings. In fact, this was the only feature we adjusted after launch. It reminded us that recognition plays a huge role in engagement and rehabilitation.
Staff need more support with digital tools – while staff were supportive of digital learning, we found that confidence and technical skills varied widely. Often, digital knowledge was concentrated in just one person, and sometimes the learners themselves knew the systems better. Technical glitches within the prison network only made this harder.
It was a clear sign that staff need more training and ongoing support to make digital learning effective and consistent. All the staff we spoke to were supportive of receiving it.
Career-focused courses drive completion – courses like Digital Marketing and Health and Safety attracted the most attention, as they had clear employment relevance.
But learners also shared that they wanted more courses that helped with personal development, like building healthy relationships or boosting confidence – showing that career goals aren’t the only motivator.
Technical barriers undermine learning – many learners faced frustrating technical issues with the prison’s IT, from complicated login steps to outdated equipment. For neurodivergent learners, especially, the limited accessibility features posed real challenges.
It became clear that more inclusive, user-friendly systems are needed to make digital learning accessible for everyone, not just the tech-confident.
Looking ahead
This project has demonstrated that digital learning in prisons is not just possible but also highly valued by learners when delivered thoughtfully. By focusing on accessibility, engagement and relevance to both personal interest and employment, we’ve seen strong uptake and enthusiasm across the prison estate.
We have gained vital insights into the realities of delivering digital education in secure environments. These lessons are already shaping our future work, including new taster courses that will be available via our new whitelisted website — a webpage that is available on the prisons’ internal network.
As we build on this momentum, PET remains committed to ensuring that every prison is a place of meaningful learning — on paper and on screen.
Donate to PET and help people in prison find a new direction. You can also sign up to our email newsletter. Illustration by PET Lived Experience Consultant Erika Flowers – find more of her work here.