Growing evidence shows (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy/government-digital-inclusion-strategy#people-who-are-digitally-excluded) that a prisoner with improved digital literacy and life skills is less likely to reoffend, and more likely to unlock new employment opportunities. The Prisoner Learning Alliance have identified four benefits (https://prisonerlearningalliance.org.uk/our-work/digital-technology/) of digital learning in prisons: - It increases access to educational opportunities for prisoners - It creates calmer prison environment for inmates and officers - It reduces re-offending - It helps address the nationwide digital skills shortage Coracle laptops give prisoners secure access to educational content at a time and place that best suits their learning - whether that’s in their cell or in communal areas. So by putting digital learning directly into their hands, we are helping prisoners reintegrate more successfully into their communities and unlock more opportunities to improve their lives. You can read more about our impact here. (https://coracleinside.coracleapps.com/impact)

We believe digital literacy is a right. But what is digital literacy? So much of what we do in our lives relies on digital know-how - such as buying a travel ticket, completing a job application, opening a bank account, or applying for Universal Credit. We take much of this digital literacy for granted. But for prisoners who have been incarcerated for more than a short period of time, the reality is that on release they face a very different world when they emerge. Imagine how confused you’d be if you suddenly discovered that contactless payments, touch screens and the use of apps had become the norm. The digital divide has been well documented (https://prisonerlearningalliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/The-Digital-Divide-Lessons-from-prisons-abroad-v3.pdf). It is the growing gap between those who are digitally capable, with access to the internet, and those who are not and are being left behind. Current estimates suggest there are 11.3 million adults in the UK who are digitally excluded, lacking either skills, connectivity or accessibility. This includes our prison population. Prisoners need digital skills if they are to have any hope of successfully rejoining society. That’s why we focus on building digital literacy while they are in prison so we can help them be more prepared for life outside of prison. You can read more about our mission here. (https://coracleinside.coracleapps.com/about)

IT-as-a-Service describes our education-based technology offer that we currently supply to nearly half of British prisons. It is a blend of secure hardware and software, enhanced on the ground by our team of highly-experienced support staff. Secure Chromebook laptops are pre-programmed with educational content that can be accessed without an internet connection, thanks to our proprietary cloud-based Osprey-VLE software. To ensure Learning & Skills Managers can then integrate Coracle into an existing learning programme for a prisoner, and get the most from the device, we support them with a customer service manager who is on site and on hand to support them.

Coracle is incredibly secure. Our team is all security-vetted and our devices have been independently checked and tested, resulting in our system being approved for use in British prisons by HMPPS. Our laptops have education resources pre-programmed into them so do not need to connect to the internet, and our learning content is quality controlled to ensure it is appropriate for the prison community.

Currently we have around 2500 Coracle devices being used in over half of British prisons. You can see our reach on our front page. (https://www.coracleinside.com/) We believe that we can extend our reach further so that more prisoners can access digital learning, improve their digital literacy, and be better prepared for life outside of prison. If you think you can help us deliver our mission then you can get in touch with us through the following email: jobs@coracleinside.com.

Our approach to pricing and our business model aims to dramatically lower the cost of digital access compared to other systems offered or suggested for prison use. We recognise that some organisations may be interested in helping to relieve the pressure on the overstretched prison budget. If you would like more details, please contact us via support@coracleinside.com and we’ll set up a call with you.

Yes, we believe digital literacy is a right for everyone, because digital skills are so fundamental to living in our modern world. The digital divide is only growing for prisoners. If we invest in upskilling prisoners now, while they are in prison, then they are more likely to reintegrate successfully back into society, making our neighbourhoods and communities safer places to live. And let’s not forget that prisons are expensive places to run. If we are able to bring down reoffending rates, it will reduce the money we need to spend on policing, on courts, on prisons, and, of course, on the economic impact that crime has.