The offender learning workforce is a life-changing part of the wider further education (FE) and training sector. Our CPD offer is available to everyone who works in this important sector.
Offender learner resources, previously hosted on the offender learning website, can be found in the below searchable document library. You can filter resources by theme using the document category box.
| Title | Summary | Categories | Tags | Link | hf:doc_categories | hf:doc_tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 out of 5 Challenge cards | A new approach that encourages people to develop their maths skills outside the maths classroom – such as in the gym, garden, library or in non-maths education. | English, Maths, offender learning | Activity cards, PDF, Word doc | english maths offender-learning | activity-cards pdf word-doc | |
| Augmented reality resources | Shrewsbury Colleges Group together with HM Prison and Probation Service have produced teaching and learning resources for use in offender learning. | EdTech and digital skills, offender learning | Resources, Zip folder | edtech-digital-skills offender-learning | resources zip-folder | |
| Communication Starters and Enders cards | The Education and Training Foundation has produced a set of cards containing short activities that can be used at the start or end of prison workshops, training or education sessions to help learners develop their confidence and abilities … | English, Maths, offender learning | Activity cards, PDF, Toolkit | english maths offender-learning | activity-cards pdf toolkit | |
| Construction & the built environment: vocational maths guide | This guide is aimed at practitioners from a wide range of providers, including FE colleges, independent learning providers and those working in the Secure Estate, who support post-16 vocational learners to develop their maths skills. | English, Maths, offender learning | Guide, PDF | english maths offender-learning | guide pdf | |
| Developing speaking and listening skills 2013 | This pack provides an extensive resource to develop teaching and listening skills and will support staff working with offenders for whom English is a first language. | English, Maths, offender learning | Resources, Zip folder | english maths offender-learning | resources zip-folder | |
| Digital skills Starters and Enders | This pack of simple activities encourages your learners to engage with digital technologies and develop digital literacies. | EdTech and digital skills, offender learning | Activity cards, PDF | edtech-digital-skills offender-learning | activity-cards pdf | |
| Doing Action Research in the Secure Estate A Guide for Educators | The aim of this guide is not to replicate what is already written in Doing Action Research, but to complement it. | offender learning, Research and evaluation | Guide, PDF | offender-learning research-and-evaluation | guide pdf | |
| Exams E1 – ESOL – offender learning – Health and Safety at work | This lesson gives practice in elements of the Skills for Life ESOL exam papers. In each reading paper candidates are required to identify signs, recognise basic text types and purpose and identify capital letters. | ESOL, offender learning | E1, Zip folder | esol offender-learning | e1 zip-folder | |
| Exams E2 – ESOL – offender learning – Travel and transport | This lesson is about travel and transport within the UK and beyond. It provides learners with the vocabulary required to understand exam instruction and for the subject of travel. | ESOL, offender learning | E2, Zip folder | esol offender-learning | e2 zip-folder | |
| Exams E3 – ESOL – offender learning – Me and my home | This lesson is about houses and running a home. It provides some language required to understand exam instructions and for the subject of ‘homes’ in all modes. | ESOL, offender learning | E3, Zip folder | esol offender-learning | e3 zip-folder | |
| Guide for Learning, Skills and Employment Managers June 2019 | This new guide is designed for managers who have responsibility for managing prison education under the new prison education reforms introduced in April 2019. | Leadership, offender learning | Guide, PDF | leadership offender-learning | guide pdf | |
| Hairdressing and beauty therapy: vocational maths guide | This guide is aimed at practitioners from a wide range of providers, including FE colleges, independent learning providers and those working in the Secure Estate, who support post-16 vocational learners to develop their maths skills. | English, Maths, offender learning | Guide, PDF | english maths offender-learning | guide pdf | |
| Health and social care: vocational maths guide | This guide is aimed at practitioners from a wide range of providers, including FE colleges, independent learning providers and those working in the Secure Estate, who support post-16 vocational learners to develop their maths skills. | English, Maths, offender learning | Guide, PDF | english maths offender-learning | guide pdf | |
| Hospitality and catering vocational maths guide | This guide is aimed at practitioners from a wide range of providers, including FE colleges, independent learning providers and those working in the Secure Estate, who support post-16 vocational learners to develop their maths skills. | English, Maths, offender learning | Guide, PDF | english maths offender-learning | guide pdf | |
| Improving Access to Offender Learning in the Community | This guidance note has a focus on offenders (aged 18 and over) serving sentences in the community under the supervision of the Probation Service. | offender learning | Guide, PDF | offender-learning | guide pdf | |
| International perspectives on prison education: reducing reoffending | This report brings together the findings of a review of relevant literature, contact with the national administration of statistics of the country and interviews with a range of stakeholders associated with prison education. | offender learning, Research and evaluation | Report, Research, Zip folder | offender-learning research-and-evaluation | report research zip-folder | |
| Learning at the Heart of the Regime POELT | The aim of these training materials to place a stronger emphasis within prison officer entry level training, on supporting the vision of prisons as learning environments with education at their heart. | offender learning | Zip folder | offender-learning | zip-folder | |
| Managing challenging behaviour – classroom or workshop management strategies | Materials for a 3 hour CPD session looking at managing behaviour in a classroom or workshop. | offender learning | Flow chart, Zip folder | offender-learning | flow-chart zip-folder | |
| Maths and English in Prison Work and Training | This resource has been inspired by the innovative work carried out by HMP Kirklevington Grange and HMP Haverigg in their exploration of developing prisoners’ English and maths alongside learning vocational skills/ working practices in prison workshops and industries. | English, Maths, offender learning | PDF, Toolkit, Workbook | english maths offender-learning | pdf toolkit workbook | |
| Maths and English Levels chart | This chart provides examples of the maths and English skills needed at each level from Entry 1 to level 2. | English, Maths, offender learning | Chart, PDF | english maths offender-learning | chart pdf | |
| Maths Starters and Enders cards | The Education and Training Foundation has produced some cards with maths activities that you can use at the start or end of prison workshops, training or education sessions. | English, Maths, offender learning | Activity cards, PDF | english maths offender-learning | activity-cards pdf | |
| Offender Learning: a career of choice | A short guide to illustrate some of the jobs that are available together with the qualifications you would need and possible career pathways within offender learning. | offender learning | Guide, PDF | offender-learning | guide pdf | |
| Pictorial approach to engaging learners with workshop activity at HMP Garth | Series of process flowcharts from HMP Garth to help instructors breakdown work that takes place in the workshops/ work areas, so that they could articulate to prisoners and education staff what skills were required. | English, Maths, offender learning | Flow chart, Toolkit, Zip folder | english maths offender-learning | flow-chart toolkit zip-folder | |
| Reading skills How To sheets | A set of How To sheets to develop a range of reading skills linked to a variety of vocational contexts. | English, Maths, offender learning | How to guides, Zip folder | english maths offender-learning | how-to-guides zip-folder | |
| Returning to Albania, Poland and Romania guides | Three guides to support people resettling in Albania, Romania or Poland at the end of serving a sentence for a criminal offence. | English, Maths, offender learning | Guide, Zip folder | english maths offender-learning | guide zip-folder | |
| Session Planners – Embedding Digital Skills | The Education and Training Foundation have produced a series of session planners to support practitioners teaching in offender learning. | EdTech and digital skills, offender learning | Session plans, Zip folder | edtech-digital-skills offender-learning | session-plans zip-folder | |
| SIR Interim Dashboard – Offender Learning – 2015 | This report analyses offender learning workforce data from the academic year 2014-15. | offender learning, Research and evaluation | Data Set, PDF, Report, Research | offender-learning research-and-evaluation | data-set pdf report research | |
| Speaking and listening skills How To sheets | A set of How To sheets to develop a range of speaking and listening skills linked to a variety of vocational contexts. | English, Maths, offender learning | How to guides, Zip folder | english maths offender-learning | how-to-guides zip-folder | |
| Successfully using ICT to support learning in the secure estate (link is external) | The recommendations from the report build on where digital literacy is being successfully taught and how this should be rolled out across the whole prison/secure estate. | EdTech and digital skills, offender learning, Research and evaluation | PDF, Report, Research | edtech-digital-skills offender-learning research-and-evaluation | pdf report research | |
| Teach Too Phase 3: Milton Keynes College -Offender Learning | The project shared occupational expertise to improve the line of sight to work in the construction sector for offenders and ex-offenders. | offender learning, Technical Education | Case study, PDF | offender-learning technical-education | case-study pdf | |
| Teaching in prisons – Questions and answers from the SET webinar | Teaching in Prisons Questions and answers from SET webinar on 6th July 2017. | offender learning | Guide, PDF, Questions and Answers | offender-learning | guide pdf questions-and-answers | |
| Unlocking English | This guide is for everyone working in the prison estate, as it is everyone’s responsibility to provide space and opportunity for prisoners to improve their lives through effective communication. | English, Maths, offender learning | Guide, PDF | english maths offender-learning | guide pdf | |
| Using film to teach English – ESOL – offender learning – Lesson plan | Film is invaluable in the prison environment as a way of focusing on communication skills. | ESOL, offender learning | E1, E2, E3, Lesson plan, Zip folder | esol offender-learning | e1 e2 e3 lesson-plan zip-folder | |
| Using the gym – ESOL – offender learning – Lesson plan | This lesson is about using the gym. It provides students with the vocabulary and speaking practice to feel more confident in understanding and talking to gym staff and users about gym equipment and exercise. | ESOL, offender learning | E1, E2, E3, Lesson plan, Zip folder | esol offender-learning | e1 e2 e3 lesson-plan zip-folder | |
| Using the library – ESOL – offender learning – Lesson plan | This lesson is about using the library in prison. | ESOL, offender learning | E1, E2, E3, Lesson plan, Zip folder | esol offender-learning | e1 e2 e3 lesson-plan zip-folder | |
| Vocational flyers | The Education and Training Foundation, the Adult Learning Improvement Network and vocational instructors in Hull and Humber prisons have created a series of flyers to highlight opportunities that workshops bring to gain skills for employment. | English, Maths, offender learning | Flyers, Zip folder | english maths offender-learning | flyers zip-folder | |
| Whole Organisation Development Process (WODP) in Offender Learning | The Whole Organisation Development Process has been designed, by the sector for the sector, to establish a prison led approach to quality improvement of learning, skills and work. | Leadership, offender learning | Guide, Word doc | leadership offender-learning | guide word-doc | |
| Writing skills How To sheets | A set of How To sheets to develop a range of writing skills linked to a variety of vocational contexts. | English, Maths, offender learning | How to guides, Zip folder | english maths offender-learning | how-to-guides zip-folder |
For those looking to discuss career options, do check out the Department for Education’s Teach in Further Education website which can tell you more about teaching opportunities in the criminal justice system. You might like to check out this helpful information from the Prisoner Learning Alliance on the difference you can make by working as a teacher or volunteer in prisons. And you can hear directly from teachers working in prisons in our series of videos ‘Raising the bar behind bars’.
The ETF is a member of the Prisoner Learning Alliance which brings together organisations and individuals who are interested in promoting the role of education and training in the rehabilitative journey for those with experience of the criminal justice system. The PLA facilitates the Essential Skills and Inclusion Network for practitioners of maths, English, SEND and IT working in prisons. The network meets once per academic term. You may also wish to join Prisoner Learning Academic Network which hosts a library of resources including research on prison education and learning.
We encourage all FE practitioners to join the Society for Education and Training (SET), the membership body dedicated to professionals working across further education, vocational teaching and training. SET helps its members progress their career and connects them to thousands of like-minded professionals and experts.
SET also administers both badges of advanced professionalism, Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status and Advanced Teacher Status (ATS), on behalf of the ETF.
Finally, if you have any questions about ETF’s support for the offender learner workforce, please contact enquiries@etfoundation.co.uk.