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.
Counselling Skills
This qualification will introduce you to the use of counselling skills in everyday life and some of the approaches that underpin these skills. You will explore how to engage in a counselling interaction effectively and how to use counselling skills in relation to personal development. You will also build your understanding of areas such as diversity and ethics in counselling. This course does not qualify you to practice as a counsellor, however it may be a useful stepping stone for further study.
The course consists of four units:
- Counselling Skills
- Introduction to Counselling Skill Theory
- Diversity and Ethics in the Use of Counselling skills
- Counselling Skills and personal development
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assessments: Four written assignments
Exams: None
Prison Support Requirements: Support submission and completion of assignments
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s next? Certificate in Understanding Substance Misuse (Level 3); Understanding Mental Health Care QCF (Level 3)
Find out more: On BSY’s website here
Creating and Starting a Digital Business
This course is ideal whether you are looking to launch a small local enterprise or you have aspirations to run a global digital company. It covers marketing, business planning, finance and networking – taking you from the business conception through to making your first sale. It will bring you up to date with current technological possibilities too. The course provider, Rocketeer, will also give you access to their resources after release, and offer bespoke support for your business through the gate.
The course consists of five steps:
Step 1: Research – How to Find Your Money-Making Opportunity
Step 2: Choose – How to Narrow Down the Right Business Idea for You
Step 3: Design – Plan For Success
Step 4: Build – How to Construct Your Business
Step 5: Launch – How to Start Making Money
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Eighteen written assignments
Exams: None
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? Principles of Management Level 3 RQF (NCC Home Learning)
Find Out More: Rocketeer provide more information here
Creative Writing
For those who read and write confidently and are interested in learning more about the technical side, this course gives you the underlying knowledge to improve your ability and boost your confidence. The course looks at writing in different styles, covering all the skills and techniques used in fiction writing. You will also have a go at writing non-fiction material, such as magazine articles. Broad and wide-reaching, this course will challenge you to write in new ways.
The course contains ten units:
- Autobiography
- Short stories
- Novels
- Younger readers
- Genre
- Play writing
- Poetry
- Non-fiction
- Articles
- Reviews
Entry requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Eight written assignments
Exams: None
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s next? AS English Language or Literature, OU Access Module: Y031 Starting with Arts and Languages
Find Out More: From NEC here
Creative Writing (Part 1)
This course gives you the skills to improve your writing ability and boost your confidence. You will cover the basics of writing for all genres and discover the power of using creative writing to improve your mental health and sense of wellbeing.
The course covers the following subjects:
Unit 1 Introduction to Writing
- Topic 1: Finding ideas
- Topic 2: Character creation
- Topic 3: Plot and conflict
- Topic 4: Setting and world-building
- Topic 5: Writing is editing
Unit 2 Writing for Wellbeing
- Topic 1: Warming up – Flex your writing muscle
- Topic 2: Writing from objects
- Topic 3: Writing from poetry
- Topic 4: Writing from places
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Materials: Paper
Assignments: 8 to 9 self-assessed progress checks
Exams: None
Prison Support Requirements: Facilitate tutor support
Tutor Support: Yes
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
Deaf Awareness and Sign Language
This course will help you to develop a better understanding of the challenges that deafness could bring and how you might be able to help. The course starts with an introduction to deafness and the problems deaf people encounter, and includes a breakdown of different hearing conditions, including tinnitus and deafblindness. The course also features information on assistive technology and the American, British, and Spanish Sign Languages, as well as other useful tools for communication.
The course consists of 4 lessons:
Lesson 1
Deafness and Personal Hearing Aids
Reactions to Deafness
Problems that Deaf People Cope With
What is a Hearing Aid?
Disadvantages of a Hearing Aid
Lesson 2
Technology / How to Help a Hearing Aid User
Cochlear Implants
Expectations and Limitations
Developments
How to Help a Hearing Aid User
Lesson 3
Conditions / Communication Methods
Tinnitus
Deafblindness
Silent Communication
Spoken Communication
The History of Sign Language
British Sign Language (BSL)
Lesson 4
Sign Language Alphabets / Sense
American Sign Language
The Alphabet
Spanish Sign Language Alphabet
The Deafblind Manual Alphabet
Block Alphabet
‘Sense’ and Government Guidance on Deafblind Services
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Four self-assessed questions
Exams: One optional exam (funding not included – you will need to re-apply to PET for the exam fees)
Prison Support Requirements: Support completion and submission of assignments
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? Open University Access Module, People, Work and Society (YO32)
Find Out More: Directly from BSY here
Drawing 1: Drawing Skills
This course helps you develop fundamental techniques such as using line and tone, and understanding form, perspective and proportion. You’ll be encouraged to explore and experiment with surface, scale and media. You’ll also learn to observe and look selectively and translate what you see into your drawings.
Please note, PET can only partially fund this course. You will first need to apply for a bursary from the Open College of Arts (OCA). If your application is successful, you can then apply to PET to cover the remaining amount.
Please also note that painting materials are not included with this course and will need to be sourced separately.
The course consists of five parts:
- Form and Gesture
- Intimacy
- Expanse
- The Figure and the Head
- Personal Project
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Five assignments
Exams: None
Prison Support Requirements: Support application for bursary, secure art materials for use, support completion and submission of assignments.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? Painting 1: Practice of Painting
Find Out More: From the OCA here
E-Commerce Business
Written by someone with lived experience of prison, and also of running his own successful online business, this course equips you with the knowledge needed to succeed. Whether you’re looking to supplement an income or to sell items around the world, this course is for you. You will cover all aspects of selling products on eBay – one of the world’s largest platforms – and other similar online marketplaces and learn how to manage and grow your own business.
The course covers the following subjects:
- An introduction to e-commerce
- An introduction to reselling
- Products sourcing and selling
- Search engine optimisation and algorithms
- Let’s master eBay!
- Starting your own enterprise
- Accounting basics
- Implications of running your own online business
- Risks in setting up your own business
- Becoming a successful entrepreneur
- Developing your skills and knowledge
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English
Format of Materials: Paper
Assignments: 8 assignments
Exams: None
Prison Support Requirements: Facilitate tutor support
Tutor Support: Yes
Economics A-Level Part 1
Economics shapes how we allocate limited resources and measures the impact of our choices. You’ll study the UK and global economy, using economic theory to analyse issues and present your ideas and conclusions in a clear, logical way. Whether you’re pursuing a career in business, finance or politics, this course will build your problem-solving, analytical and decision-making skills, in readiness for a wide range of future career and university choices.
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 five units:
1. Introduction to economics
2. Supply and price
3. Market failure and government intervention
4. The UK economy – performance measures
5. The UK economy – income, growth, and policies
6. Business Behaviour
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English and Maths
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Seven written assignments (corresponding to the above units, plus one introductory assignment). 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? Economics A-Level Part 2
Find Out More: From NEC here
Economics A-Level Part 2
Economics shapes how we allocate limited resources and measures the impact of our choices. You’ll study the UK and global economy, using economic theory to analyse issues and present your ideas and conclusions in a clear, logical way. Whether you’re pursuing a career in business, finance or politics, this course will build your problem-solving, analytical and decision-making skills, in readiness for a wide range of future career and university choices.
The course contains four units that follow on from Part 1
7. Markets
8. Government Intervention in Markets
9. International Economics
10. Macroeconomic Strategies and Policies
Entry Requirements: Level 2 English and Maths, plus Economics Part 1
Format of Course Materials: Paper-based
Assignments: Four written assignments (These do not contribute towards the final grade).
Exams: Three exams. Each are two hours, and contribute 35%, 35% and 30% of 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. Facilitate and invigilate exams.
Tutor Support: Yes
What’s Next? OU Access Modules Y032:People, Work and Society, or YO33: Science, Technology and Maths
Find Out More: From NEC here