Create and Connect: Bringing community to life through prison education

Working in partnership with the University of Lancashire, we invited our learners to take part in the Create and Connect project. This national creative learning opportunity was open to all prison sites, where Novus deliver education and invited learners to explore what ‘Community’ means to them.

From art and woodwork to poetry and creative writing, learners shared their own experiences and ideas. They were given the freedom to explore the theme through their interests and talents, celebrating creativity, connection and self-expression.

30 prison sites took part, with 24 submitting creative work for consideration for an exhibition. Running from 16 November 2026 to 31 January 2027, the exhibition will showcase learners’ different interpretations of community. Here, we look at how our learners and education teams brought the theme to life at HMP Parc, HMP Styal and HMP Hull.

Bringing learners together at HMP Parc

At HMP Parc, our colleagues and learners explored the Create and Connect, Community theme across a range of subjects.

Creative arts teachers, Sara and Cerys, organised a community day in the Chaplaincy. This brought learners from education classes and residential wings together to create The Tree of Life. Each participant designed a leaf reflecting their experiences, identity, interests or aspirations, contributing to a shared artwork.

Learners also produced individual pieces for consideration for the wider exhibition. A display of their completed work celebrated the range of creative responses and talent across the prison.

Working together encouraged creativity, self-expression and connection. Seeing their work displayed also helped learners feel proud of their achievements. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many asking for more opportunities to take part in similar activities.

For our education team, the opportunity showed how a shared creative theme can bring learners of different abilities together. It also helped connect subjects and gave learners more opportunities to learn from one another.

Commun-a-tea at HMP Styal

At HMP Styal, Commun-a-tea took inspiration from the way tea brings people together. Its role in encouraging conversation, celebrating cultural traditions and welcoming others made it a fitting symbol of community. Our learners used this familiar starting point to explore what community meant to them.

Learners from the art department and the library’s Knit and Natter group worked together to create a response for the exhibition. Along the way, they shared skills, ideas and personal stories. Working towards a shared goal encouraged teamwork and helped them see how each contribution mattered to the finished work.

Alongside their creative work, learners developed communication, planning, time management and problem-solving skills. Preparing for a public exhibition gave them a clear goal, helping them take responsibility for their work and keep going when challenges arose. These skills can support their progress in education, employment and life beyond custody.

Learners described feeling more confident, finding a renewed sense of purpose and taking pride in their achievements. Many also valued being part of a team. Their experiences showed how creative activities can help learners feel connected, valued and ready to take part in learning.

Exploring community through creativity at HMP Hull

Inspired by Hull’s Larkin With Toads public art project, our learners at HMP Hull transformed four-foot wooden models into creative interpretations of community. Each class approached the theme through a different subject, exploring the people, places and experiences that give them a sense of belonging.

The Community of Reading model featured butterflies and flowers emerging from an open book, celebrating how stories connect people. ESOL learners explored their classroom community through a design featuring the Union Jack alongside flags representing the group’s nationalities.

In English classes, learners used pages from Inside Time to create a collage about connection and belonging in prison. Another model drew on Hull-born mathematician John Venn’s overlapping circles to show how different identities and experiences connect.

The Humber Community model used the Humber Bridge to represent links between people, places and opportunities. Whilst Community of Food, celebrated dishes and traditions from different cultures, reflecting how sharing food brings people together.

Maths learners used tessellation to show how individual shapes form a larger pattern, just as people contribute to a community. Together, the models celebrated our learners’ different perspectives and the connections they build through learning, creativity and shared experiences.

What does community mean to our learners? Across these three sites, their creative responses show how shared interests and experiences can bring people together. Opportunities like this give learners space to express themselves, develop skills and take pride in what they can achieve. They also help build the connections and sense of belonging that encourage learners to engage in education.

We encourage you to see the exhibition when it opens on 16 November 2026 and explore our learners’ different interpretations of community. Running until 31 January 2027, it offers a chance to celebrate their creativity and the ideas behind their work.

For more stories about our learners and the opportunities bringing them together, explore our news section.