Prison
Education
Our aim is to deliver an outstanding and inclusive learning experience to support the successful rehabilitation, resettlement and employment of offenders on release.
In 2019, Weston College was awarded the prestigious Prison Education Framework contract to deliver education services in 19 prisons in the region. The College - rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted – now provides nationally recognised qualifications and a wide range of extracurricular opportunities to thousands of offenders.
Our delivery focuses on transformational learning and raising aspirations – ensuring that education packages meets the needs of offenders when they complete their sentence.
The College is committed to helping a new generation of offenders to gain skills which will help them to find employment after their release. To achieve this, we deliver nationally recognised qualifications – including diplomas and NVQs – in all our prisons and provide the highest standard of quality in all our teaching.
We take pride in ensuring our standards and expectations are high and our focus is on maximising the success and progress of our learners.
Welcome from our Principal
Prison education is a major catalyst for change in custody. At Weston College we have taken all of the experiences from delivering the previous OLASS 4 contract and have enhanced them to create the mission, values and objectives that underpin all the work we now do under the Prison Education Framework in the sector.
Our work in this field both from the perspective of supporting learners to achieve and to ensure inclusive learning environments has been recognised nationally. The accolades include the first Beacon award for Prison Education in the UK plus the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, specialising in the inclusive learning agenda. Enabling our learners to gain the qualifications they need to progress after serving their sentence is paramount to what we do. The quality and type of qualification is also key to success.
Our recognition as ‘Employer of the Year’ by Lloyds Bank reinforces the way in which we are developing courses that lead to employment opportunities.
We are rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, a TES ‘College of the Year’ and TES ‘Training Provider of the Year’. These accolades combined with the Investors in People Gold Award and Champion Status ensure not only that we are the best but that we place engagement, learning and outcomes at the heart of all we do.
Dr Paul Phillips CBE
Principal & Chief Executive
Weston College Group
As well as providing educational facilities under the Weston College brand, a key aim is to engage employers – large and small, national and local – to find work for ex-offenders and those on licence.
We work closely with many partners in this regard to support prisoners through the gate and back into meaningful work.
For more information on how our learners make progress, go to the Prisons page and the Releasing New Potential website.
We also work closely with many partners - including Bath Spa University and Weldmar Hospice - to enhance our education delivery and provide life-changing experiences and outcomes.
This includes work experience and extending our curriculum offer to include a breadth of further learning opportunities.
At Weston College we pride ourselves on putting our learners first and creating brighter futures for them, and we continue to do this in our prison education.
We have raised the standards of teaching and learning and are renowned for the outstanding education we provide.
All of our work helps to strengthen the opportunity for our learners to be released back to their communities and make a positive impact, reducing reoffending. Our staff are inspirational, committed and outstanding at what we do.
Join Us
See our current vacancies
Looking for temporary work?
Discover amazing opportunities through forward futures
