'Catering' to Digital Skills in Prison Education

As digital skills become evermore vital to accessing employment, we’re prioritising the integration of these skills into the planning and delivery of our learning programmes, as well as the assessment of learners.  

By demystifying technology and digital learning, we aim to equip learners with the latest tools used across industries and set them up for success upon their release. 

‘Learning on Screen’ in Hospitality and Catering training

In our Hospitality and Catering training, our Digital Learning Technologists have provided over six hours of Continued Personal Development materials to our education team at HMYOI Wetherby, enhancing their ability to incorporate digital tools into the curriculum. 

Paul, a tutor at HMYOI Wetherby, has begun using the Learning on Screen tool to enrich his Hospitality and Catering course. He creatively introduced health and safety regulations by showing video clips of safety failures, including a segment from Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, which engaged students in identifying and correcting the mistakes. 

Paul found that using an example of a well-known celebrity chef not only captured the learners’ attention, but encouraged positive contributing to the discussion on the subject. 

The future of digital learning in prison education

Like most things in our modern society, the future of prison education is being shaped by the power of digital tools.  

Education isn’t confined to traditional methods anymore; digital learning offers new and endless dynamic ways to engage learners, build confidence, and create pathways to rehabilitation – without physical bounds! 

Reflecting on his experience with digital learning for Hospitality and Catering training, Paul said: 

“I found it to be a wonderful tool which helped learners contextualise the theory that they’ve been learning. It was easy to work with and the quality of content was brilliant. The lads really got involved and were willing to answer follow up questions on what they’d learnt.” 

 Moving forward, Paul already has plans to teach using digital tools at least once a week, and after this first trial session, feels confident using other tools in the future. 

Digital Awareness Month at Novus 

Digital Awareness Month is a chance for Novus to showcase how we’re transforming prison education through the power of digital tools. In our world, technology is crucial to so many things, including most careers– that's why we’re ensuring our learners aren’t left behind when it comes to digital skills.  

By integrating digital tools into our provisions, we empower learners to build essential skills for employment and life after prison. 

From interactive digital lessons to practical training, we’re coming up with more engaging and relevant learning experiences, through our Digital Strategy and partnerships.  

Digital literacy is essential for creating pathways to brighter futures, and Novus is proud to be at the forefront of innovation, using Digital Awareness Month to raise awareness and drive change in prison education. 

Novus Leading the Way in Prison Learning 

This Digital Awareness Month at Novus, we’re working hard to shine a spotlight on the work carried out by our team across the country. Read about our latest digital advances and the work we do to identify new ways of embedding digital skills education in every part of our provision.