Check if you’re eligible
If you do not already have a formal teaching qualification, you will need to commit to developing your teaching skills once in post. You will only have to complete a formal teaching qualification for some roles.
To be a prison teacher, you need to:
- be at least 18 years old
- have the right to work in the UK
Please check the advert for the job you’re applying to for full details o the eligibility criteria you’ll need to meet for that particular role.
Find a job and apply online
With 122 HMPPS prisons and 4 youth offending institutions (YOIs) in England and Wales, there are plenty of teaching opportunities to choose from.
Apply for teaching jobs in adult prisons in England and Wales
Teaching in the majority of adult prisons in England and Wales is delivered by specialist education providers that are contracted by HMPPS . If you successfully apply to one of these prisons, you will be employed by the education provider and not HMPPS.
To see if there’s a vacancy in a prison near you, select a region from the list below and follow the relevant link to search on the provider’s website.
Visit the PeoplePlus website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk
- HMP Bedford
- HMP Bure
- HMP Littlehey
- HMP Norwich
- HMP Wayland
Hertfordshire, Essex and Suffolk
- HMP Chelmsford
- HMP Hollesley Bay
- HMP The Mount
- HMP Warren Hill
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies at HMP Whitemoor
Visit the Novus website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
- HMP Brixton
- HMP YOI Feltham
- HMP High Down
- HMP Isis
- HMP Pentonville
- HMP Thameside
- HMP Wandsworth
- HMP Wormwood Scrubs
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies at HMP Belmarsh
East Midlands
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies at HMP Gartree
Visit the PeoplePlus website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
- HMP Leicester
- HMP Lincoln
- HMP Morton Hall
- HMP North Sea Camp
- HMP Onley
- HMP Whatton
North Midlands
Visit the PeoplePlus website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
- HMP Drake Hall
- HMP Foston Hall
- HMP Nottingham
- HMP Ranby
- HMP Stocken
- HMP Sudbury
West Midlands
Visit the Novus website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
- HMP Birmingham
- HMP Brinsford
- HMP Featherstone
- HMP Hewell
- HMP Oakwood
- HMP Stafford
- HMP Stoke Heath
- HMP Swinfen Hall
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies at HMP Long Lartin
Tyne and Wear
Visit the Novus website to search for vacancies at these prisons:
- HMP Deerbolt
- HMP Durham
- HMP Holme House
- HMP Kirklevington Grange
- Low Newton
- HMP Northumberland
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies at HMP Frankland
Yorkshire
Visit the Novus website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
- HMP Askham Grange
- HMP Doncaster
- HMP Hatfield
- HMP Hull
- HMP Humber
- HMP Leeds
- HMP Lindholme
- HMP Moorland
- HMP New Hall
- HMP Wealstun
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies the following prisons:
- HMP Full Sutton
- HMP Wakefield
Cumbria and Lancashire
Visit the Novus website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
- HMP Haverigg
- HMP Kirkham
- HMP Lancaster Farms
- HMP Preston
- HMP Wymott
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies at HMP Garth
Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire
Visit the Novus website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
- HMP Buckley Hall
- HMP Hindley
- HMP Liverpool
- HMP Risley
- HMP Styal
- HMP Thorn Cross
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies at HMP Manchester
Kent, Surrey and Sussex
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
- HMP Coldingley
- HMP Cookham Wood
- HMP Downview
- HMP East Sutton Park
- HMP Elmley
- HMP Ford
- HMP Isle of Wight
- HMP Lewes
- HMP Maidstone
- HMP Rochester
- HMP Send
- HMP Standford Hill
- HMP Swaleside
Visit the MK College website to search for vacancies at the following prisons:
- HMP Aylesbury
- HMP Bullingdon
- HMP Erlestoke
- HMP Grendon
- HMP Huntercombe
- HMP Spring Hill
- HMP Winchester
- HMP Woodhill
Visit the Weston College Group website for vacancies at the following prisons:
Avon and North Dorset
- HMP Bristol
- HMP Eastwood Park
- HMP Leyhill
- HMP Portland
- HMP The Verne
Devon and North West
- HMP Channings Wood
- HMP Dartmoor
- HMP Exeter
- HMP Guys Marsh
Visit the Novus website to search for vacancies in these prisons:
- HMP Berwyn
- HMP/YOI Parc
Apply to teach in other adult prisons in Wales
If you successfully apply for a job in one these prisons in Wales, you will be employed by HMPPS:
- HMP Cardiff
- HMP Prescoed
- HMP Swansea
- HMP Usk
We don’t currently have teaching vacancies in the 4 prisons above. You might like to explore the wide range of other education, skills and work job opportunities available in prisons.
Apply for teaching jobs in youth offending institutions (YOIs)
Teaching in YOIs is delivered by specialist education providers that are contracted by HMPPS and the Youth Custody Service . If you apply to work in one of these YOIs, you will be employed by the education provider.
Follow the links below to search for current vacancies:
| Feltham YOI, Middlesex | Visit the Shaw Trust website to search for vacancies |
| Werrington YOI, Stoke-on-Trent | Visit the PeoplePlus website to search for vacancies |
| Wetherby YOI, West Yorkshire | Visit the Novus website to search for vacancies |
Get an offer and arrange your start date
If you are successful at your interview, you will need to complete pre-employment checks. This is standard procedure for anyone applying to work in a prison or YOI and they include security, identity and past-employment checks.
The application process may take longer if you’re applying to a prison that requires a higher level of pre-employment security checks. If you are going to be working in a high security prison, you will also need to complete HMPPS Enhanced Level 2 vetting, plus a Counter-terrorism check (CTC).
Prepare to start teaching in a prison or YOI
Before you start your new prison teaching career, you will have training on how to work safely in a custodial environment and engage with prisoners.