Prisoners’ Education Trust – Course Prospectus 2022-2023
Download PET’s Course Prospectus - exploring all the subject areas we offer and helping people in prison choose from over 125 distance learning courses.
PET offers over 125 different distance learning courses in every prison in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
We offer courses in a range of sectors – from health and social care to transport and logistics – as well as GCSEs, A-levels and Open University Access modules. Here you’ll find information about every course we offer.
Principles of Management
Suitable for those looking to improve their managerial skills or who are new to the area entirely, this course covers all the basic elements of management. Through a series of written assessments, you will study people management, leadership, improving performance, equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, resolving customer complaints, and monitoring customer interactions. Throughout the course, you will use your newfound knowledge to analyse data and understand different approaches.
The course contains seven units:
- Principles of people management
- Principles of business
- Principles of leadership and management
- Understand how to improve business performance
- Understand equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace
- Understand how to resolve customers’ problems and complaints
- Understand how to monitor customer service interactions and feedback.
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Seven written assignments
Exams: None
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s next?: CMI Level 5 Certificate in Management and Leadership (NEC)
Find out More: On NCC’s website here
Principles of Plant Growth, Health and Applied Propagation
Following on from the Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Horticulture, this course is ideal if you want to find a job in horticulture or are already working in the field. You will gain an in-depth, scientific understanding of plant taxonomy, plant nutrition and growing systems, the management of plant health (including dealing with pests, diseases and disorders), as well as plant propagation.
The course consists of the following four lessons:
Lesson 1 – Plant Taxonomy, Structure and Function
- Plant taxonomy
- The structure and function of plant tissues
- The role of flowers and fruit
- Photosynthesis and respiration
- Movement of water and solutes through the plant
- Tropisms and plant movements
- Endogenous & synthetic growth regulators
Lesson 2 – The Root Environment, Plant Nutrition & Growing Systems
- Properties of soil and growing media
- Plant growth & air and water
- Soil organisms and nutrient cycling
- The chemistry of soil & growing media
- The role of nutrients in plant growth
- Organic production
Lesson 3 – The Management of Plant Health
- Significant Pests, Diseases and Disorders
- Chemical Control in Plant Protection
Lesson 4 – Understanding Applied Plant Propagation
- Seed anatomy, physiology & environmental factors influencing propagation
- The relevance of anatomy, physiology and environmental factors to vegetative propagation
- Growing media & propagation equipment
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Four written assignments
Exams: Four exams (fees included)
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Facilitate and invigilate exams
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? RHS Level 3 Certificate in the Principles of Garden Planning, Construction and Planting
Find Out More: The HCC have more information available here
Principles of Plant Growth, Propagation and Development
This course – accredited by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) – is ideal for those looking to volunteer or work in horticulture and gardening. Providing you with a detailed introduction to the subject, you will learn about plant classification, nutrition and root environments, maintaining plant health, and understanding propagation.
This course is part of the Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Horticulture qualification. In order to achieve the full qualification and progress to Level 3, you will also need to take the Certificate in Principles of Garden Planning, Establishment and Maintenance Level 2 course.
The course consists of four lessons:
- Plant Classification, Structure, and Function
- Plant Nutrition and Root Environment
- Maintaining Plant Health
- Understanding Plant Propagation
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Four written assignments
Exams: Four exams (fees included)
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Facilitate and invigilate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? The second Level 2 Module is Principles of Garden Planning, Establishment, and Maintenance. Upon completion of this course as well, learners will have completed the Level 2 Principles of Horticulture Certificate. It is recommended, but not essential, that learners pass both Level 2 courses before progressing to the RHS Level 3 courses, which PET also fund.
Find Out More: From the Horticultural Correspondence College here
Proofreading and Copy Editing
Many organisations rely on the services of proofreaders and copy editors to ensure that their written material is professionally presented and error free. This course will help you master the techniques of proofreading and copy editing by providing a comprehensive introduction to the skills and knowledge required in these professions, including spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
The course covers the following subjects:
- Introduction to Addictions
- Addictive Substances
- Models and Perspectives Surrounding Substance Misuse
- Classification of Substances
- Treatment and Preventions
- Stages of Change
- Navigating Recovery
- Reflexivity and Diversity
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Material: Paper
Assignments: 4 assignments
Exams: None
Prison Support Requirements: Facilitate tutor support
Tutor Support: Yes
Psychology A-Level Part 1
In this course, you’ll deepen your understanding of theories underpinning human behaviour – exploring memory, cognition and mental health. You’ll also develop your analytical and organisational skills, discovering which scientific research methods can be used to collect, process and analyse data.
PET offers A-levels in two parts. Upon completing Part 1, you can choose either to take your AS exam (a qualification marking the first year of a full A-level) or continue on to Part 2 to build up to a full A-level.
The course consists of the following units:
- Approaching Psychology (introduction and origins, learning cognitive approaches, the biological approach and biopsychology)
- Memory (multi-store model, working memory model, explanations for forgetting, eyewitness testimony)
- Social Influence: Conformity and Obedience (resistance to social influence, minority influence and social change)
- Developmental Psychology: Attachment (developments, explanations, types, maternal deprivation)
- Psychopathology (definitions of abnormality, phobias, depression and OCD, approaches to phobias, depression and OCD)
Research Methods (scientific processes, data analysis and presentation, maths resources)
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English and Maths
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Seven written assignments. These do not contribute toward the final grade.
Exams: Two, each are 1 hour 30 minutes, and contribute 50% of the overall grade. (Funding not included – you will need to re-apply to PET for the exam fees)
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Organize and facilitate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? Psychology A-Level Part 2
Find Out More: From NEC here
Psychology A-Level Part 2
In this course, you’ll deepen your understanding of theories underpinning human behaviour – exploring memory, cognition and mental health. You’ll also develop your analytical and organisational skills, discovering which scientific research methods can be used to collect, process and analyse data.
The course contains four lessons that follow on from Part 1:
- Approaches and Debates (psychodynamic approach, humanistic approach, gender and culture in psychology, free will and determinism, nature-nurture debate, holism and reductionism, idiopathic and nomothetic approaches, ethical implications of research, comparing approaches)
- Schizophrenia (Classifying, explanations, therapies, and the interactionist approach)
- Cognition and Development (Piaget’s theory, Vggotsky’s theory, development of social cognition)
- Aggression and Further Research Methods (Bio-psychological explanations, ethological and evolutionary explanations, social explanations, media influences, institutional aggression, psychology as a science, inferential testing, choosing a statistical test)
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English and Maths, plus Psychology A-Level Part 1
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Four written assignments. These do not contribute towards the final grade.
Exams: Three – all are 2 hours long and count 33.3% towards the final grade. (Funding not included – you will need to re-apply to PET for the exam fees)
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Organize and invigilate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? Open University Access Module Y032 People, Work and Society
Find Out More: From NEC here
Psychology GCSE
This course will help you better observe and interpret human behaviour, analyse your own social interactions with people of different personality types, and understand the drivers behind decision-making and behaviour. It covers a wide selection of topics including memory, perception, social influence, the brain and neuropsychology.
The course consists of the following units:
- Research methods, Part A
- Memory
- Perception
- Development
- Research methods, Part B
- Social influence
- Language, thought and communication
- Brain and neuropsychology
- Psychological problems
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Ten written assignments. These do not count towards the final grade.
Exams: Two, each are 1 hour 45 minutes and contribute 50% the overall grade. (Funding not included – you will need to re-apply to PET for the exam fees).
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Organize and facilitate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? A-Level Psychology, or OU Access Module YO32: People, work and Society
Find Out More: From NEC’s website
Religious Studies A-Level Part 1
This course explores a variety of perspectives on religion and its impact on people’s behaviour, communities and cultures. Focusing on topics such as life after death and the existence of God, you’ll get the chance to reflect on your own values and attitude, as well as develop critical thinking and effective communication.
PET offers A-levels in two parts. Upon completing Part 1, you can choose either to take your AS exam (a qualification marking the first year of a full A-level) or continue on to Part 2 to build up to a full A-level.
The course consists of the following units:
- Introduction to Religious Studies
- The Existence of God (Design Argument, Cosmological Argument, Ontological Argument)
- Religious and Ethical Debates (Religious Experience, The Problem of Evil, Environmental Ethics, The Ethics of Equality)
- Theory and Application of Ethics (Utilitarianism, Natural Moral Law, Situation Ethics, War and Peace, Sexual Ethics)
- Christianity (The Nature of God, The Trinity, The Church, The Bible, The Role and Nature of Jesus, Shaping and Expressing Christian Identity)
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Six written assignments. These do not contribute toward the final grade.
Exams: Three – each are 1 hour, and contribute 33.3% of the overall grade. (Funding not included – you will need to re-apply to PET for the exam fees).
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Organize and facilitate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? Religious Studies A-Level Part 2
Find Out More: From NEC here
Religious Studies A-Level Part 2
This course explores a variety of perspectives on religion and its impact on people’s behaviour, communities and cultures. Focusing on topics such as life after death and the existence of God, you’ll get the chance to reflect on your own values and attitude, as well as develop critical thinking and effective communication.
The course contains five lessons that follow on from Part 1:
- Religious Language (Analogy and Symbol, Verification and Falsification, Language Game)
- Belief and Unbelief (Critiques of Religious Belief, Life after Death, Creation and Cosmology)
- Ethics (Kant’s Deontological Ethics, Aristotelian Virtue Ethics, Cognitivism and Non-Cognitivism, Religion and Morality, Medical Ethics – the beginning and end of life)
- Christianity and Society (The Challenge from Science, Secularisation, new movements in theology, pluralism and diversity, gender equality and discrimination)
- Atonement Theory and Scholars
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English, plus Religious Studies A-Level Part 1
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Five written assignments. These do not contribute towards the final grade.
Exams: Three – all are 2 hours long and count 33.3% towards the final grade. (Funding not included – you will need to re-apply to PET for the exam fees).
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Organize and invigilate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? Open University Access Module Y032 People, Work and Society
Find Out More: From NEC here
Residential Lettings
This introductory qualification is ideal if you want to gain basic knowledge in residential lettings and property management, and is well suited for those who wish to enter the profession with no previous experience or qualifications in this sector. You will cover areas including health and safety, law, and customer service, as well as maintenance and repair obligations, renewing and ending tenancies, and dispute resolution.
The course consists of four units:
- Health and Safety, Security and General Law
- Customer Service within the Property Sector
- Introduction to Residential Property Letting Practice
- Introduction to Residential Property Management
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English and Maths
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: None (a self-assessed workbook is included)
Exams: Four invigilated, multiple choice exams (Funding not included – you will need to re-apply to PET for the exam fees)
Prison Support Requirements: Facilitate and invigilate exams
Tutor Support: No
What’s Next? Residential Sales
Find Out More: From MOL here