Welcome To Our Academy
Learning Without Limits
Our team of highly qualified, experienced teachers, tutors, trainers and psychologists provide a world-class educational experience outside of the traditional classroom. Our bespoke learning platform ensures that both serving prisoners and YCG Citizens™ alike have access to our courses and services.
The Education Challenge
Many prison leavers are trapped in a cycle of reoffending that has significant costs for communities and society, for themselves as individuals and their families. The annual cost to society of reoffending is calculated by HMPPS to be £18.1bn.
Education is proven to be a key driver in significantly reducing the risk of reoffending by prison leavers, with Dame Sally Coates’ groundbreaking review identifying it as an essential ‘engine of rehabilitation’. Despite this, opportunities to develop real-world skills using traditional classroom approaches are limited in the prison estate. This leaves prisoners unable to appropriately retrain and poorly equipped to reintegrate into society on release as Dame Sally’s findings below show.
42%
Of adult prisoners report having been permanently excluded from school
32%
Of adult prisoners report suffering learning difficulties during their school education
0.001%
Of adult prison learners were able to participate in full level three courses
20%
Of adult prison learners are looking to study at a higher level
All statistics taken from “Unlocking Potential – A review of education in prison”.
— Dame Sally Coates.
The Education Solution
Our passion at YCG Academy is to provide the highest quality educational opportunities to prisoners who want to turn their lives around. We achieve this through a digital approach which utilises our bespoke Learning Platform to deliver a self‑paced, modular curriculum in‑cell, enabling learners to secure the skills needed to maximise their potential and access employment‑related opportunities.
In addition, we support learners during their sentence through our delivery of a personalised mix of core skills and vocation‑specific training. Our YCG Pathways Programme™ enables us to offer a guarantee of employment upon release to YCG Citizens™ who have secured industry‑specific qualifications. This holistic approach equips prisoners to successfully reintegrate into their community on release and has been proven to result in a reduction in the risk of re‑offending.
Our Platform
Digital by Design
Our platform ensures progress through courses is stored and a digital record of achievement is created, allowing a fully digital, secure and paperless approach to learning.
Ready To Use
Our platform contains a wide range of courses to support learners develop in preparation for employment.
Clean Design
Our Learning Platform is intuitive and easy to navigate, enabling learners to engage with courses immediately.
Learn Anywhere
Our Learning Platform can be used on laptops, tablet and mobile devices, allowing a flexible approach to study.
Choose Your Style
Our Learning Platform supports self‑paced, modular learning to cater for learner preferences.
White Paper Compliant
On the 6th November 2021 Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab announced plans for in-cell digital education to be rolled out across the prison estate in England. This will allow prisoners to “take advantage of technology to take a bit of control and responsibility for their life” by accessing and using our platform.
Eleven pilot prisons will be able to take advantage of this digital revolution in the prison estate from July 2022. Prisoners will have access to digital passports which will store details of skills they learn and training they complete. Click the button below to find out more about the Government’s Prisons Strategy White Paper.
I believe the current funding arrangements that restrict access to higher level learning for prisoners, and therefore block their educational and personal progression, are self‑defeating. They quash aspiration and prevent prisoners from taking personal responsibility for their rehabilitation.
Greater progression must be encouraged. More bespoke learning as well as private study for prisoners can be facilitated by smarter use of ICT.