People with criminal convictions

Examples

Below are some examples of how providers have supported outcomes for people with criminal convictions which you may find helpful when developing your own approaches. Some of these approaches may not yet be fully evaluated.

We will update this page with more examples of effective practice as we identify them. If you have, or are aware of, examples of effective practice in this area please contact [email protected].

Open Book at Goldsmiths University of London

Open Book at Goldsmiths University of London works closely with a network of agencies to support people from a wide range of non-traditional backgrounds including ex-offenders.

A range of support is offered, including:

• drop-in taster classes
• an Extended Project Qualification, where students embark on a largely self-directed and self-motivated project, helping them to apply to foundation and bachelor degrees
• A Foundation Pathway as a route into a university degree, with classes that help students to get back into studying and to discover what subject areas they might want to study in the future. Students are responsible for their own attendance, and there are no assessments.

Open Book partnered with HMP & YOI Isis, supported by the Prisoners' Education Trust. Read the independent evaluation of the Open Book partnership.

Prison: Learning Together module at Leeds Beckett University

Leeds Beckett University set up their accredited Prison: Learning Together module in partnership with HMP Full Sutton in 2016, and the programme ran for the first time in 2017.

The module was delivered at HMP Full Sutton by Leeds Beckett University to students from both outside and inside the prison, bringing together 12 serving prisoners and 11 students from Leeds Beckett University.

All students accessing the module were required to go through a formal written application and interview process. Although a third-year university module, no formal prior attainment was required - applicants only needed to have competent reading and writing skills.

Applications were shortlisted and interviews conducted by a panel of representatives from both the prison and the university. The same interview questions were adopted for all applicants.

Read the independent evaluation of the Learning Together module exploring student experiences of this partnership.

The Learning Together initiative was originally developed by the University of Cambridge.