19th August 2025
Unlocked Graduates is pleased to announce the publication of Leading Prison Landings: The Unlocked Guide to Jailcraft, a training manual for frontline staff, codifying our uniquely successful approach to developing outstanding prison leaders. This book aims to support staff to become transformational prison officers, focusing on the power of relational practice to significantly improve outcomes for the prisoners in their care.
Based on our experience of training nearly 900 prison officers on our award-winning graduate programme since 2017, Leading Prison Landings codifies our unique training model for staff on the frontline of our prisons. It applies everything we have learnt, leveraging the data and evidence that we have collected about what the best officers do and how they behave to transform outcomes and reduce reoffending.
Structured around 24 core techniques that anyone can learn, it will support staff to create a safe, rehabilitative environment and promote change on the landings. It applies evidence-led approaches to professional development – including practice pedagogy and instructional coaching, supported by our new partnership with Steplab. A suite of accompanying video models will also support readers to build these skills into their everyday practice.
Prison officers are the agents of change in prisons. They are the only members of staff able to reach all prisoners – even the most vulnerable and complex. Relational practice must be at the heart of professional development for frontline staff, and this book gives all prison officers access to our innovative approach to training prison officers to build transformative relationships with the prisoners they work with. It will empower staff to take their development into their own hands, working with mentors and line managers to improve their practice and ultimately break cycles of reoffending.
Natasha Porter OBE, CEO and Founder of Unlocked Graduates, and co-author of Leading Prison Landings: The Unlocked Guide to Jailcraft said: “Those working on the frontline of our prisons deserve access to the highest-quality professional development and training. This book does just that, making Unlocked’s unique model for relational practice available to all staff for the first time, improving outcomes for the prisoners in their care and reducing reoffending.”
Leading Prison Landings: The Unlocked Guide to Jailcraft is available on Amazon now.