Share your story

Personal stories are the life force of any charity, and all the more so at PET. Prison education can be a difficult cause, but personal stories change perceptions. Stories give a human face to a figure, fact or message. They make our work relatable: helping the public understand the real impact of what we do, and helping current prisoners find inspiration.

Your story could:

• Convince the public of the power of education to change lives
• Raise money for PET
• Inspire people in prison to pursue education
• Convince government and policy makers of the value of our work
• Improve our work for learners to come

We are interested in all kinds of stories that reflect experiences of prison, prison education and the work done by PET. You could have studied in prison, supported a friend or family member through their sentence, or helped to engage people as a staff member.

We’re particularly interested in stories that:

• Talk about the impact of our funding on someone’s life
• Help show the power of education in general
• Are an example of positive education work in prisons
• Talk about the barriers to prison learning

If you’re interested in sharing your story, get in touch with our communications team – communications@prisonerseducation.org.uk. A member of the team will get back to you to talk through your story. Depending on how and where it would be used, you could:

1. a) write a short piece for us;
2. b) do a phone or face-to-face interview that we will type up;
3. c) do a recorded interview – either audio or video.

The team will run through these options with you, and you will always see the finished story before publication. We will also offer extra support for anyone telling their story, particularly on film or audio.

It is up to you. Stories have a great impact when used:

• As case studies on our website
• On social media (Twitter and Facebook)
• In materials for people in prison (including prison newspaper Inside Time)
• In the press
• In reports to supporters
• In policy reports

Before sharing your story, we will ask for your consent for every way your story might be used. We review this consent every two years.

PET welcomes stories from people who want to remain anonymous, and will work with you to make sure your identity is protected. This may involve changing your name and/or leaving out information that may help people identify you. We are also aware that some people have licence conditions that make it illegal to share personal information.

We will share every article, interview or recording with you before it is published, in order to get your approval.