I’m really looking forward to this new BBC1 TV drama on teaching philosophy in prison, based on Andy West’s brilliant book ‘The Life Inside’. insidetime.org/comment/wait...

Good to see the @i-m-b.bsky.social highlighting the impact that cuts to prison education budgets are having. Lots of really worrying examples in their letter, including cuts to vocational training and support for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities. imb.org.uk/news/concern...

This is a positive initiative by @pauldavieswxm.bsky.social and the author Lee Child to promote literacy in prisons. I also really like this quote from Lee Child, "Ideally, what we wanted to do was make everybody’s day a little bit easier in the prison world". www.theguardian.com/education/20...

This is a really good blog by my colleague @cassieedmiston.bsky.social on our new briefing on access to digital devices and the internet in prison, highlighting the progress made but also the ongoing digital divide between what's available in prison and in the community.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported our Big Give #ChristmasChallenge - we've raised a record £46,819 so far! The appeal is open until midday tomorrow - every donation means more people in prison can gain qualifications and build towards a brighter future: https://bit.ly/PET-BigGive-2

We have reached our @biggive.bsky.social target!! A huge, huge thank you to the 115 people who have donated. We are very grateful for your support.

Like every other charity on Bluesky, we're taking part in the Big Give. So if you'd like to support PET's work now's the time as any donations between now and midday on Tuesday will be *DOUBLED*. bit.ly/PET-BigGive-3

It's always great to see positive coverage of work that prisons are doing, like this farm in East Sutton Park. One person said, for example, that "Farming, to me, is really special. I found it to be a brilliant escape from everything I've ever known". www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

No surprises here, sadly. YOIs are really, really struggling to provide a regime that gets young people out of their cells. It’s time for a complete reset of youth custody that puts education first, to give young people opportunities to develop the skills they’ll need to thrive as adults.

I really enjoyed this discussion with Charlie Taylor of @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social and Cathy McGuinness, even if the general tone was quite downbeat. Education in prison can make such a difference, which is why it's so important to get it right.

It’s always good to see more employers committed to employing prison leavers. But it’s also vital to get prison education working properly, so people in prison can get the skills and qualifications that employers need. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Predictably critical report out today from the Justice Select Committee on rehabilitation in prisons. But good to see the committee call for the government to "publish a clear plan to improve both participation and quality in prison education". committees.parliament.uk/committee/10...

If this happens, I think just one PCC - Tim Passmore in Suffolk - will have been in the role for the entire 16 year period it will have existed. Katy Bourne has also held the role in Sussex since 2012, but it's due to be abolished there when a new mayor is elected in 2027.

This is one of the saddest things I've read for a long time but it's also beautifully written and important. www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...

This is a typically forthright assessment of the state of the prison system - which he describes as “close to breaking point” - by Charlie Taylor of @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social in the Telegraph. And good to see cuts to education budgets highlighted. www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

Well, this is bleak. Not wrong. But bleak.

Nice to read about something positive in the prison system - the work of @libertychoiruk.bsky.social!

Good to see this recommendation on increasing access to education and training in today’s Justice Select Committee report on drugs in prison. committees.parliament.uk/committee/10...

I'm looking forward to giving evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee on prison education in Wales this afternoon, with @stgilestrust.bsky.social and Estyn . Lots to cover, including funding, breadth of provision and digital learning. www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/2557747...

With the publication of the ‘Just passing time’ thematic review, Chief Inspector, Charlie Taylor, outlines the problems with current work and training provision in adult prisons and his concerns that cuts will make things worse. Read the blog: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/what-do...

Good luck to everyone running the Royal Parks Half today! We have six wonderful runners fundraising for PET. Here’s why Liv is choosing to run for us today. You can support her efforts here: https://ow.ly/2gaw50X9egO

This is a terrific article on pub closures, including looking at the Trafalgar near me in Colliers Wood. It’s so impressive what @londonermag.bsky.social, and @jim.londoncentric.media’s @londoncentric.media, are doing for London journalism. www.the-londoner.co.uk/trafalgar-wi...

I've had a look at the prison education statistics for last year and there's some good news in there, albeit very modest and from a low starting point. Hard to see how that will be sustained, though, with upcoming budget cuts about to hit provision that was already chronically underfunded.

Good to see @feweek.bsky.social covering the recent @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social report on child custody. Young people are spending far too much time in their cell and not enough time in classrooms or doing other positive activities.

More than a third of children in custody spend less than two hours a day out of their cell during the week. More than half spend less than two hours a day out of their cell on weekends. Young people who've already been failed by the system are being failed again.

I’ve written an article for @feweek.bsky.social on why prison education matters and why budgets cuts are a mistake.

A huge, huge thank you to Richard Farrant, who's currently celebrating his 80th birthday by cycling from John O'Groats to Lands End and is raising money for @prisonersed.bsky.social. If you can contribute at all, I'm sure that'd help him on his way. www.justgiving.com/page/richard...

Good to see the Law Society calling for more investment in prison education in their response to the Sentencing Bill. www.lawsociety.org.uk/contact-or-v...

This is v.good by @cassiarowland.bsky.social on the Sentencing Bill, including the potential benefits of earned progression if it can be implemented properly if/when current pressures on the prison system subside.

Good article by @shipleywrites.bsky.social looking at cuts to prison education budgets. www.spectator.co.uk/article/cutt...

Here's the story for this: inews.co.uk/news/welder-... It's a proposal from Make UK Defence and the Fair Chance Business Alliance for an apprenticeship scheme that would help people leaving prison into skilled jobs in the defence industry.

The new prison education contracts do not address current chronic underfunding, with rising costs leaving some prisons facing substantial cuts. The government should look again at finding more funding to enable people to use their time in prison constructively. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

This is a good article on a prison-university partnership in the US.

Two-fifths of people in Wormwood Scrubs spend at least 22.5 hours per day in their cell. Just grim.

Good to see innovative things - in this case a workshop teaching people to build bikes out of bamboo - happening in prisons despite all the current challenges. And also good to see the value of family connections being realised. www.ft.com/content/6ebe...

This is a really *excellent* album. Very much recommended.

These are consistently great and this one is no exception.

There's still time to apply for our Policy Manager role! The closing date for applications is this Monday at 5pm. Help us influence prison education policy and improve educational experiences for people in prison. Apply here 👇

Some thoughts on the new prison education contracts. Broadly speaking there's some change but there's a lot that's the same, and the biggest question is whether there's enough funding available to drive much-needed improvements. (Thanks, as always, to @russellwebster.com for publishing it!)

More problems at the Secure School, which will close until its internal doors can be replaced, after Oasis (who run it) judged it couldn't keep the 10 young people it was holding safe.

Coverage of changes to procurement rules that have led to the @unlockedgrads.bsky.social scheme closing (and also impacted Frontline and @teachfirst.bsky.social). Lots of @unlockedgrads.bsky.social officers do a lot to support education and it's been a real shame to see it scrapped in this way.

Less than eight weeks after the government said they’d legislate to deport foreign people in prison earlier, they’re now planning to legislate again to deport them even earlier. Presumably a sign that they’re (understandably) getting worried about prison capacity again. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Thank you so much to all our supporters! Your generosity will help us to enable and empower people in prison to access education and all its benefits.

Incredible statistic that the capital cost of building *one* new prison place is now £600k (up from £500k last year). And that's before you even consider the ongoing running costs. Prisons are both a money pit and chronically underfunded, meaning regimes are severely limited.

On holiday and avoiding the news, so only just saw this incredible, horrifying essay by Rümeysa Öztürk on her experience of ICE detention. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/r...

Good to have the opportunity to give evidence to the London Assembly’s Economy, Culture and Skills Committee for their inquiry on employment for people leaving prison. Thank you to @hinabokharild.bsky.social for the invitation. You can watch the session at webcasts.london.gov.uk/Assembly/Eve...

Lots of good sense in today's report on prisons from the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee, including this recommendation on education provision. committees.parliament.uk/work/8565/pr...

"You have a sense of accomplishment that nobody can take away from you. You have a sense of dignity that nobody can take away from you.” This @newyorker.com article on teaching lifers in a US prison is well worth a read. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

This is the same issue that led to Unlocked Graduates not getting a new contract. It’ll be interesting to see whether the government is able to hold this line with the more high profile Teach First.

Love this from Andy, who studied in prison with support from PET. "That’s what PET is giving people in prison today: the hope, the drive and just a day where they can feel that little bit normal and that: 'I’m OK'." You can read his full story at prisonerseducation.org.uk/story/andys-....