Prisoners’ Education Trust – Course Prospectus 2026-2027
Download PET's Course Prospectus - our comprehensive guide to the distance learning courses we offer, with information on how to apply and how to prepare to study.
PET offers 120 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 British Wildlife Care and Rehabilitation
This course is ideal if you have an interest in British wildlife and animal care, rehabilitation and management. You will learn about the full range of common British birds, including sea birds and birds of prey. You will then find out about small mammals such as hedgehogs, hares and bats, as well as larger mammals like deer. Finally, you will deepen your knowledge of the marine mammals that frequent our shores, such as dolphins and whales.
1. Basic principles and ethics of wildlife care including rehabilitation and release
2. Care and management of birds
3. Care and management of small mammals
4. Care and management of larger mammals
5. Care and management of marine mammals
6. Rehabilitation considerations and release methods
PET entry requirements: Level 2 English
Format of course material: Paper-based
Assignments: Six assignments
Exam: No
Prison support requirements: Support assessment submission and contact supplier for tutor support
Tutor support: Tutors give support by providing feedback and answering queries.
Property Development
This course will walk you through the fundamentals of property development, from researching the market and crunching the numbers to assessing whether a project makes financial sense. You will find out about property research and acquisition and how to manage complex development projects. You’ll also learn about the key authorities involved in the process.
Structure of course:
- Unit 1 – Introduction to the property market
- Unit 2 – Research and acquisition
- Unit 3 – Feasibility
- Unit 4 – Authorities
- Unit 5 – Financing the project
- Unit 6 – Delivery
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Six
Exams: None
Prison Support Requirements: Facilitate tutor support via email. This often requires scanning learner assignments and emailing them to their tutor.
Tutor Support: Yes
Psychology A-Level Part 1
This course helps you explore human thoughts, emotions and behaviours — giving you insight into yourself and other people. You’ll study key areas like memory, attachment, social influence and research methods, as well as topics like mental health, criminal psychology and relationships. This qualification can develop your skills in critical thinking, research, data analysis and communication.
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
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Six written assignments.
Exams: Two, each are 1 hour 30 minutes
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
This course is the follow-up to Part 1, and continues to help you explore human thoughts, emotions and behaviours — giving you insight into yourself and other people. You’ll study key areas like memory, attachment, social influence and research methods, as well as topics like mental health, criminal psychology and relationships. This qualification can develop your skills in critical thinking, research, data analysis and communication.
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 plus Psychology A-Level Part 1
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Four written assignments.
Exams: Three – all are 2 hours long
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Organize and invigilate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? There’s a range of possible progression options including the Open University Access course Psychology, Social Science and Wellbeing
Find Out More: From NEC here
Psychology GCSE
This course offers insights into human behaviour and dives into fascinating topics like cognitive processes, social influence and mental health – as you learn to understand yourself and how you react to the world. You will find out how to become a better communicator and discover the skills you need to resolve conflict, handle data, carry out analytical research and be part of a team.
Key Topics Covered:
- Cognition and Behaviour
- Memory
- Perception
- Development
- Research Methods
- Social Context and Behaviour
- Social Influence
- Language, Thought, and Communication
- Brain and Neuropsychology
- Psychological Problems (e.g., addiction, mental health treatments)
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Nine written assignments.
Exams: Two invigilated, closed book exams (105 minutes each)
Prison Support Requirements: Facilitate tutor support via email. This often requires scanning learner assignments and email them to their tutor.
Tutor Support: Yes, accessed with prison staff support.
What’s Next? There are range of possible progression options including A-Levels or an Open University Access course plus courses on Counselling and Mental Health.
Find Out More: From NEC’s website
Psychology, Social Science and Wellbeing Access Module (Y034)
Explore some of the Open University’s most popular subjects such as psychology, health and social wellbeing, sport, education and social sciences. You’ll be introduced to discussions of theory and engage with real life events to build up your knowledge and understanding of these wide-ranging topics. This module is perfect if you want to get to grips with something new.
There are three blocks:
Block 1: Who am I?
This block, which you will study in print, considers identity and the overarching question of “Who am I?”
Block 2: Is it fair?
Block 2 moves to online study and addresses the topic of fairness in several different ways and an exploration of difference and inequality.
Block 3: What can be done?
Block 3 identifies some key issues you studied in the previous two blocks and considers them in practical terms.
PET entry requirements: Level 2 English and Maths
Format of course material: Paper-based and on the VC2. Paper-based and a CD-ROM for the audio-video content. All content is also available on the VC2.
Assignments: There are four written assignments and a few smaller pieces of work including multiple-choice assignments
Exam: No
Prison support requirements: Register and reserve learner on the course before start date (February, May and October each year) by contacting the OU and Student Finance England/ Wales.
Support assessment submission (ideally scan to the tutor or post) and contact supplier for tutor support.
Tutor support: Tutors give support by providing feedback answering queries.
Religious Studies A-Level Part 1
Find out how people make sense of existence, morality and the divine. You will explore topics such as religious experiences, ethical theories and the role of religion in society — developing an understanding of different worldviews and the ability to think critically about moral and spiritual issues. This qualification cannot only help you build strong analytical and evaluative skills, but also fosters empathy, reflection and reasoned argument.
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: Five written assignments. These do not contribute toward the final grade.
Exams: Three – each are 1 hour.
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 is the follow-up to Part 1, and you will continue to find out how people make sense of existence, morality and the divine. You will explore topics such as religious experiences, ethical theories and the role of religion in society — developing an understanding of different worldviews and the ability to think critically about moral and spiritual issues. This qualification cannot only help you build strong analytical and evaluative skills, but also fosters empathy, reflection and reasoned argument.
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: Six written assignments.
Exams: Three – all are 120 minutes long
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Organize and invigilate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? There are range of possible progression options including: Open University Access Module Y032 People, Work and Society
Find Out More: From NEC here
RHS Certificate in Principles of Plant Growth 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
RYA Day Skipper
Suitable for sailors and motor boaters, this introductory course will give you the skills to navigate around familiar waters by day – expanding your knowledge of seamanship, navigation, and meteorology. You will find out more about nautical terms, rope and anchor work, safety, international regulations, navigation and compass-work, and chart-work.
The course comprises of fifteen subjects:
- Nautical Terms
- Ropework
- Anchor Work
- Safety
- International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
- Navigation
- Compass
- Chartwork
- Tides and Tidal Streams
- Visual Aids to Navigation
- Meteorology
- Passage Planning
- Navigation in Restricted Visibility
- Pilotage
- Marine Environment
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English and Maths
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: None – course contains a self-assessed workbook
Exams: Two exams
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments. Facilitate and invigilate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? Coastal Skipper
Find Out More: via the EASS here