HM Prison and Probation Service
Supporting Education, Wellbeing and Personal Growth
We were commissioned to create bespoke journals to support prisoner education at HMP Deerbolt.
Rather than designing the journal in isolation, we worked with prison education leads and prisoners themselves to understand what would be genuinely useful. The result combined two areas: capturing learning and reflections from book clubs and educational content, alongside practical coaching exercises focused on wellbeing, personal growth and positive change.
The journal was supported by in-person coaching sessions, where our straightforward, down-to-earth approach proved particularly effective in engaging participants.
The project was a success, leading to a second bespoke journal commission before the approach was subsequently rolled out across a number of prisons throughout the UK.
"Working with Nathan and Joe on the design of the journal was a very positive and dynamic process. Feedback was always taken on board in a timely fashion and the end result reflected everything we had requested. Timescales were really reasonable and the end product is a fantastic, bespoke product which could not be sourced 'off the peg'. It's been such a positive experience, the service has been excellent from start to finish and we are already seeing the benefits of the journals with the prisoners."
