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 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, …
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
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
