Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) is a registered charity that works in
prisons
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...
in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. It offers distance learning courses and educational advice and guidance to people in prison. It was founded in
HMP Wandsworth in 1989.
In 2022, PET helped 1,375 people in prison start a course. Its prospectus includes 125 courses including
GCSEs
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
and
A-levels
The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
,
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
Access modules and a wide range of professional courses.
The charity also uses its policy and advocacy work to improve prison education and show prisons, policymakers and the public the impact it can have — for people in prison, their families, and society.
In 2021 the Justice Data Lab – a team of statisticians at the
Ministry of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
– studied the employment and reoffending records in the first year of release for over 9,000 people PET have supported with distance learning in prison.
The research found that the people supported by PET are more likely to get a job within one year than prisoners PET does not support; that even if they do not get a job they are less likely to reoffend within that year than other prisoners who do not get jobs; and that if they do get jobs they are even less likely to reoffend than other prisoners who find employment.
References
External links
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Prison charities based in the United Kingdom
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