The Easter Family Day at HMP Exeter created a warm and inclusive environment where fathers in custody could spend meaningful, quality time with their children and family. A standout feature of the event was the presence of the library, offering a wide selection of free, brand-new books provided by Give A Book. From baby board books to titles for older …
On Friday, March 28th, learners from our Arts and Catering departments had the honour of contributing to the *Declaration Ceremony of the High Sheriff of Devon, Caroline Harlow, held at Exeter Cathedral. The theme of the ceremony, ‘Gambling’, focused on raising awareness of the social and personal impact this issue can have—making it a meaningful platform for our learners to …
Local businessman-turned-charity-worker Hash Norat visited the Enterprise Skills class at HMP Leyhill to share insights about his ‘Feed the Hungry’ café in Gloucester. In support of his charity, the learners raised funds by selling cakes, combining entrepreneurship with a meaningful cause. Here is more information regarding Norat’s worthwhile business Feed the Hungry
Join us at the Careers Fair at Weymouth Pavilion on 23rd January to explore an exciting career in Prison Education! This is your chance to speak directly with our team and learn how you can make a meaningful impact by helping others turn their lives around through education. Don’t miss this opportunity to shape a brighter future for yourself and …
HMP Portland Carpentry group were invited to listen to an inspirational talk by Steve Wyatt, who has transformed his life after being addicted to heroin and crack cocaine for 22 years. During his addiction, he experienced homelessness, prison, and multiple stints in rehab. Today, he is now a decade into his recovery and is on a mission to inspire others. …
The Open Door Project is a prisoner-led project coordinated through the Library and Arts Centre, this has provided arts and creative experiences to the men and has been a unique opportunity for them to explore and develop their creative potential, connect with their community and gain valuable insight into opportunities for work within the creative industries upon release. The Library …
The Koestler Awards for arts in criminal justice started in 1962. Each year over 3,500 people in custody and in the community share their creative work by taking part. The Koestler Awards provide feedback and encouragement to entrants of all abilities in visual art, design, writing and music. This year we are proud to have achieved across the South West, …
It is always lovely to hear how we impact on inmates lives and also being recognised for it. This letter was received by one of the lecturers at HMP Leyhill… Dear Umar It is an absolute privilege to have this opportunity to write and recognise the marvellous impact you are having on the lives of many prisoners within HMP Leyhill. …
HMP Channings Wood has had the opportunity to showcase their artistic talents as part of The Open Door Project, at Exeter Custom House. The Open Door Project, is a prisoner-led project coordinated through the Library and Arts Centre, it has provided arts and creative experiences to the men and has been a unique opportunity for them to explore and develop …
We are pleased to be working on a new show with ‘The Outsiders Project’ a performing theatre group who work to show that people side-lined from society can write, perform, and create work at the highest level. They will be visiting prisons in our region performing *TROUBLE* – a bold new show that dives deep into stories of bad decisions, …
Proud to share that our team had a successful experience at the County Show! We generated £158 by selling goods crafted by inmates, and received 11 solid staffing inquiries. Our dedicated team went above and beyond, with 5 staff members staying on-site for the entire two days, camping overnight to ensure continuous coverage. An additional 3 team members joined to …
After a fantastic experience at last year’s event, the Weston College Prison Education team from HMP Guys Marsh is excited to return to the Gillingham and Shaftesbury County Fair on the 14th and 15th of August. This time, we’re not just coming for the fun—we’re on a mission to make a difference. We’ll be setting up a stall to promote …
A creative project run by IC Visual Lab across the South West in collaboration with prison participants exploring photography and visual storytelling will begin at HMP Channings Wood on 15th July Covering a variety of themes like ‘The History of Photography’, ‘The Prison Archive’ and ‘Imagination and Dreams’, the results of the participants stories will be part of a final …
Have you ever thought about sharing your skills with others? Then we would love to meet you! You don’t have to be a qualified teacher, just have an enthusiastic approach! So come to our exciting open recruitment day on Wednesday 17th July from 5pm to 7pm. You will need to book a place so send an email to: prisoneducationenquiries@weston.ac.uk
One of our education staff, Ena, helped with breaking language barriers by engaging with a Portuguese prisoner who was neither eating or leaving her bed. Despite Spanish and Portuguese being entirety different languages, Ena worked her magic with compassion and fairness to effect a great change in the individual
University Centre Weston student Kamali Stevens jumped up and punched the air in delight when he was announced as the winner of the Higher Education Student of the Year Award at this year’s Association of Colleges (AoC) annual conference. The 41-year-old’s elation at that moment was understandable. He had undergone an incredible journey from prisoner to prison reformer, after being …
Finishing the year on a high, learners from HMP The Verne starred in a fantastic “Festive Open Mic” event organised by Weston College Prison Education. The superb acts included poetry reading, original acoustic songs, cover bands, and a full choir. Members of the education team were appointed as impartial judges and were asked to pick their top 3 acts. Prizes …
Weston College is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant of £29,995 by Arts Council England to deliver ‘The Open Door Project’ at HMP Channings Wood – a Category C men’s prison located near Newton Abbot, Devon, where the College is the Prison Education provider. This transformative project is set to run throughout 2024, with the aim of providing …
The SLAM Poetry night at HMP Portland was held after a day of immersive and informative events centred around the celebration of Black History Month. Learners from across the prison were invited to perform poetry, spoken word, rap, lyrics or songs that they had created during their time at Portland. Our cookery class mentors made an amazing Afro-Caribbean themed meal …
What an Amazing day at HMP Channings Wood. A taster day delivered by the team from Western Counties Roofing Ltd spanning two roofing workshops. Twenty Learners attended , lots of engagement and 5 learners now have interviews lined up for potential jobs with Western Counties upon release. Also supported today by Tatiana Fernandez of Countryside Partnerships. We are looking forward …
This week Hayley Robinson, our Assistant Curriculum Coordinator, at HMP Leyhill has been recognised by the prison for her hard work and dedication. Hayley’s achievement, entitled the ‘Changing Lives Award’ is awarded annually to a member of staff from across the prison who has gone above and beyond to support the learners at HMP Leyhill. What makes the award even …
Our workplace champions the right of staff to embrace all Afro-hairstyles. We acknowledge that Afro-textured hair is an important part of our Black employees’ racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious identities, and requires specific styling for hair health and maintenance. We celebrate Afro-textured hair worn in all styles including, but not limited to, afros, locs, twists, braids, cornrows, fades, hair straightened …
Weston College Prison Education at HMP Channings Wood are excited to confirm that as part of our growing relationship with Western Counties Roofing, one of our learners has secured employment to commence upon release. Last Friday Ian McHale of Western Counties Roofing Ltd came to interview to one of our construction course graduates, and all credit to the learner he blew Ian away!We …
Today Mr M was awarded the ‘Learner of the Month’ award here at HMP Exeter, here is a photo of Mr M receiving his certificate and goody bag from Mark Stoyle Curriculum Manager at HMP Exeter and Mr Andy Tanner Deputy Governor. “Mr M demonstrated a mature and disciplined approach to his learning and has been a great role model …
Last Thursday Weston College Prison Education staff hosted a Construction themed Careers Fair at HMP Portland, a category C working and rehabilitation prison. The Day saw 100 men who attend vocational training and education delivered by Weston College Group Prison Education we also opened up sessions for men engaged in prison industries. “Days like today bring our learners hope” Dan Skelton HMP Portland …
The Outsiders Project have begun their southwest wide tour of our prisons, this year their performance is entitled ‘Dad’ and is already making an impact upon our learners. They have already bought the house down at HMP Portland and HMP Guys Marsh, with performances at HMP Dartmoor and HMP Channings Wood taking place next week. Their drama performance takes place …
HMP Leyhill invited author Paul Zanon to talk to their leaners. Paul is a best-selling author and journalist, his specialist subject is boxing, and so it turned out, it was our learners too. Thirty learners listened to Paul speak for an hour and a half, a furious debate ensued about who is the greatest boxer of all time, and if …
A week from today on the 13th of July HMP Portland are hosting a ‘Construction Careers Fair’. With lots of brilliant employers attending, it promises to be a valuable day for our learners.
On Friday 30th June, Weston Education at HMP Channings Wood held a Resettlement event. In attendance were the following providers: • Eat That Frog • Learn Devon • Transplant Mastertrain • Whistl • Gilpins Demolition • Amey Briggs • SWISCO • Graham engineering & construction • Western Counties Roofing • Landworks • DWP – Job centre 72 learners attended the …
What better way to mark ‘Men’s Health Week’ than HMP Guys Marsh hosting Nick Elston for a number of talks to our learners. Nick is a mental health motivational speaker, using public speaking as his tool for change. The day at Guys Marsh saw two very engaged groups, with lots of great questions from our learners who were genuinely keen …
Last week HMP Portland hosted their ‘A Day In The Life’ Art Exhibition. Our learners, Officers and Weston College staff all submitted some amazing pieces. From poems to soap sculptures, there was some real talent on display. This is a fantastic annual event, this year saw our music teacher running a guitar masterclass for anyone who attended. Roll on next …
Today we welcomed the winners of our ‘Adaptive Teaching Awards’ to Knightstone Campus in Weston-Super-Mare! Over the past few months one of our amazing quality managers Natalie Betts, has been running an adaptive teaching competition for our staff. Winners came from prisons all over the southwest, taking a day out from their usual duties to be recognised for their achievement and …
The Koestler Arts award submissions for HMP Channings Wood are off to London! With 91 visual art, 29 creative writing and 26 music recordings being submitted. A brilliant effort from our staff and learners! Below are examples of the visual art that has been entered!#art#music #creativewriting #prisoned
Just a snapshot of from the session Wallis Eates ran for our learners at HMP Exeter. Fantastic feedback from those who attended!
It’s day one of the festival of ‘Books, Ideas and Debate’ at HMP Exeter! An exciting programme for learners across the next 3 weeks!
Weston College’s Holly has been shortlisted for the UK Skills Competition Diversity Champion award, sponsored by the Education & Training Foundation, for her outstanding work in promoting inclusivity in education at HMP Portland. As an inclusive practitioner, Holly challenges and changes the culture by recognising the diversity of all learners and creating a space where all learners can engage and …
Three prominent Bristol City Councillors, Helen Holland, Nicola Beech and Asher Craig, will unveil a Blue Plaque at HMP Bristol (Horfield Prison) on Friday 1st October. The plaque is for Theresa Garnett, a Suffragette who was imprisoned in 1909 in Horfield after she attacked Winston Churchill with a whip at Temple Meads Station. The plaque is connected to an education …
Friday 26th March – 21st May HMP Bristol is pleased to announce its forthcoming art exhibition, Hope from the Yards, which takes place in the exercise yards of HMP Bristol from Friday 26th March, inspired by the theme of HOPE. HMP Bristol, is a Category B men’s prison, located in the Horfield area of Bristol. Weston College delivers a wide …
Investors in People is delighted to award Weston College, a Weston-super-Mare based FE and HE college, the “We invest in people” Platinum accreditation. Platinum is the highest level of accreditation possible to achieve and is a category that only 2% of organisations secure nationwide. Building on its existing Gold accreditation and Champion status, the College received Platinum as a result …
Nikki is an Education Tutor and Assessor at HMP Standford Hill, a Category D open prison for adult males. She receives an Award for her outstanding contribution to using the arts, often with prisoners experiencing additional difficulties. This is reflected in remarkable successes at both the Koestler Awards and at Margate’s internationally renowned Turner Contemporary gallery. Nikki’s initial nominator, Butler …
HMP Guys Marsh, one of 19 prisons in which Weston College delivers education services, has won an inter-prisons maths competition – for the second year running. The ‘3 out of 5’ challenge encourages people to develop and apply their maths skills outside the classroom – at work, in the gym, garden or library, for instance. Learners undertake the ‘challenge’ by …
The manager of a highly rated coffee shop and café based in the grounds of HMP Leyhill Prison has won a surprise award. Kaye Thomas received the honour from the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in recognition of her work with the prison ‘residents’ and the quality service the café provides. Leyhill Grounds Coffee Shop is open to the public and …
Weston College staff have helped ‘learners’ of a Wiltshire prison organise a unique literary festival. ‘Penned Up’ is a two-week event being held at Erlestoke Prison – one of 19 prisons in which the College delivers education services. Ex-government minister Jonathan Aitken and award-winning TV writer Jimmy McGovern are among 25 speakers at the event, which takes place from the …
Weston College will provide education in 19 prisons across England after successfully bidding for three major contracts. Since 2012, the College has operated in nine prisons across the South West. Following a revamp of the procurement process, it retained contracts for the South West, and was also selected as the provider for the South East region. The three contracts, worth …
Inspired by the pressures and issues of prison life, prisoners at HMP Guys Marsh have, supported by Weston College, written and developed their own play. Performing on 19th January, the play, Choices, is about the dark side of prison, looking at the issues of spice, bullying and harm. It is a powerful and hard-hitting script but it has a positive message …
Artwork, short stories and poetry from prisons around the South West of England have been exhibited at Leyhill Grounds coffee shop for the last two weeks. All the pieces exhibited were entries to Weston College’s regional competitions, organised to “Say Thank You” in recognition of the 100 year anniversary of the World War One armistice. Each prison in the region …
In another creative venture at HMP Guys Marsh, an exhibition of the work of the “Artist In Residence” helped to raise over £400 for the Royal British Legion. Using the “Say Thank You” theme of Weston College’s regional arts competition, Danny created a wonderful range of work commemorating the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War One. The …
HMP Erlestoke prisoners collaborate with Salisbury cathedral stonemasons on monument as part of Weston College Rememberance activities. Weston College learners at HMP Erlestoke have collaborated with stonemasons from Salisbury Cathedral to create a WW1 memorial that stands inside the razor-wire topped fences of their jail. Learners in the Wiltshire prison created the memorial together with seven masons from Salisbury Cathedral, …
Weston College has held a series of MasterChef-style competitions in prisons across the south west. Prison learners were taught a range of catering skills before putting them to the test and cooking a meal of their own. Prison governors then chose the winner after sampling the dishes. The day-long courses were designed to inspire learners and encourage them to consider …
The annual celebration of Weston College’s Offender Learning teams took place this September- culminating in the celebratory award ceremony for outstanding contributions by staff in their field. “Inclusivity: A Whole Prison Approach” was opened by Dr Paul Phillips, College Principal and Chief Executive, before handing over to the keynote speaker – Catina Barrett – who posed the question “What is …
Weston College has teamed up with two top Bristol chefs, Josh Eggleton and Adrian Kirikmaa, St Katherine’s School and Ashton Gate Stadium to create The School of Food, the South West’s new vocational programme for chefs. As such they have been visiting the South West prisons, inspiring Weston College’s learners there with masterclasses from some top industry representatives. The School …
Horticulture learners at HMP/YOI Portland have been working hard for many years now on various entrepreneurial projects – from growing vegetable baskets for donation to food banks through to their most recent project – creating an Armistice Remembrance garden. This latest project has got them regional and national attention for the amazing efforts and results which has culminated in them …
Weston College has become the first college to sign up to the national Ban the Box campaign. Candidates with a criminal record can now apply for jobs at the College with the knowledge that they will be assessed on their ability to do the job before any convictions are fairly considered. However, the same rules surrounding who can legally do …
Offploy work alongside Weston College across our prisons to support learners being released into sustainable employment. Dan was referred to Offploy after being released from HMP Guys Marsh in 2017 as he had been struggling to find work. Dan had completed his Counter Balance Forklift training through Weston College during his time in custody and was keen to find work …
This year’s Weston College Creative Arts Festival took place from 23rd May until the 21st June 2018 and provided our Offender Learning students with a fantastic opportunity to showcase their talents. The Summer Showcase took place at the College’s Loxton Campus, which ran for 8 days and was met with great reviews. There was a wide range of work on …
On Friday 15th July, Guys Marsh held a special event to celebrate their success in winning the 3/5 Maths Challenge for 2017/18. The shield was presented by representatives from the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) to Weston College management team Daniel Skelton and Isabella Franco in a special event held in the library and was attended by many of the …
HMP Guys Marsh team were delighted to be shortlisted for the final of this year’s BBC Points West Cookery Team of the Year. Nominated for their fantastic daily contributions as well as the variety of projects they are involved in, the team were visited by the BBC cameras in early June to film a slot for BBC Points West news …
Weston College recognise the need to continually promote literacy within all our education departments, particularly in light of the often low levels of reading ability that we encounter in prisons. At HMP Guys Marsh the team continue to lead the way under the stewardship of ACM Isabella Franco, promoting the literacy opportunities for prisoners through the Library and Learning Resource …
Following the huge success of the inaugural literary festival at HMP Erlestoke in 2017, planning began almost instantly to provide an even bigger and better version the following year. So it was after months of preparation from our prisoner co-ordination council, support from the prison team and the Arts Council and lots of hard work from the Weston staff, our …
Weston College continue to expand their delivery in prison education by now embracing the principles of mindfulness to support learners and staff. Recognising the importance of well-being for learners, particularly in helping enable them to engage with learning, Weston College has developed a unique pilot programme at HMP Dartmoor. Following research by The Association for Mindfulness in Education which found …
Weston College expands offender learning delivery to include teacher training. Having successfully delivered teacher training qualifications for our own staff teaching in prisons, Weston College OLS has now expanded its delivery to include both prison service instructors and prisoners. Having secured funding from the Education training Foundation, Weston first piloted delivery of the Award in Education and Training to prison …
A great success On March 20th, Weston College organised another successful employers day at HMP Channings Wood. The objective of this full day event was to help men in custody back into employment upon their release. This is the fourth such event at Channings Wood and it was the most successful to date with both the men and the companies …
Weston College has received the Association of Colleges’ Beacon Award for Widening Participation in Learning, sponsored by Gateway Qualifications, at a ceremony in HMYOI Portland. Guests were welcomed by Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group and Steve Hodson, Governor, HMYOI Portland. The Beacon Award for Widening Participation in Education is open to all …
Offploy is a Community Interest Company with a social mission to help radically alter the perceptions of UK Industry about what it means to employ people with convictions. Already operating in a multi-regional capacity around the UK, Offploy have recently entered into partnership with Weston College Offender Learning Services, with the intention to make a sizeable impact on the reduction …
Weston College held it’s annual staff conference for teachers, managers and administrators along with many of our partners at the newly refurbished Winter Gardens in October 2017. This year’s theme was Impact for Excellence and was led by the keynote speaker – author and Impact guru Simon Tyler. Simon spoke about the work in his many books but particularly focusing …
In October 2017 Weston College took on the contract for delivery of the Library at HMP Guys Marsh and immediately set about working with our partners to rebrand and relaunch the resource. Renamed the Library and Learning Resource Centre, Weston have invested in the books, resources and events to make this area a truly desirable location for prisoners to come …
Here in Dorset we are incredibly fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the country with such a variety and wealth of natural features as well as interesting man-made structures. Both contribute to the decidedly unique appearance of Dorset’s landscape and rural heritage. Fingerposts are one of Dorset’s rather quaint relics from the past, which have developed into being …
In March 2017 Weston College co-hosted its first Literary Festival at HMP Erlestoke. Titled “Penned Up” the festival was supported by our partners in the prison, Bath Spa University as well as funding from the Arts Council and a huge amount of work from our Reading Patron David Kendall. A great success, the events over the fortnight of the festival …
Releasing New Potential opened up the Leyhill Grounds Coffee Shop earlier this year in conjunction with HMP Leyhill. The coffee shop is open to the public and employs eight offenders. It is based in a former staff mess room which has been refurbished over the last year into a modern café, complete with furniture and artwork made by offenders in …
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Weston College is pleased to announce a new partnership with Bristol Rugby Club. The partnership will see Bristol Rugby supporting the College’s Academy of Sport in a number of ways, which includes: staff development, delivery of strength and conditioning provision, support and guidance for the new sports analysis department and guest sessions/lectures from coaches and players. The new partnership creates …
Educational services provided by Weston College to offenders at a South Gloucestershire open prison are “outstanding”, say government inspectors.
An exhibition of artwork created by prisoners from across the South West of England raised hundreds of pounds for charity.
Weston College held an awards ceremony last week to recognise the successes and achievements of its offender learning teaching provision.
