GENAIE at The Clink
In 2024 – 25, we worked with a team from The Clink for 12 months as part of a team of prison educators, prison digital learning specialists and prisoners to carry out action research in a UK foreign nationals prison.
The following people took part in the project: Eve Ringrose, Paul Clarkson, Marcelle Roach, person mentors and prisoners from The Clink, Steve Grix from Meganexus and Claire Cullinan from ccConsultancy.
The project was funded through an Innovation Grant from His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), whose programme supports innovative approaches that enhance rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. The problem we wanted to address was how to to provide equity of access for people who speak many different languages to courses/ prison work: Prisoners have access to widely-recognised catering qualifications in the prisons we worked in but the assessments were all in English. We trialled an AI-powered translation tool called GENAIE (developed by Meganexus and UCL) to open up opportunities for Albanian, Polish and Romanian prisoners by creating learning materials in their first languages. This ‘translanguaging’ approach, where theories and key ideas can be taught in someone’s first language, even where they are developing practical skills and confidence in another, e.g. English-speaking, setting proved successful for the prisoners involved. The action research helped us collectively evaluate AI as an effective way to support prison learning; to help FN prisoners have more fulfilling prison experiences; and to prepare inmates for life after prison.
Our findings indicate that learners showed improved engagement, confidence, and vocational understanding, though challenges remained in relation to digital access and assessment of English language progression.
We had a small additional pot of funding from The Susan Noffke Award, overseen by CARN (the international Collaborative Action Research Network). This enabled the team to work together to analyse our findings and Claire then travelled to Klagenfurt in Austria to share their work with action researchers for around the world.
Our project demonstrated that AI-enabled translation and learning materials can play a transformative role in addressing language barriers for foreign national prisoners in prison-based vocational training.
We found that GENAIE:
– Enhanced accessibility and comprehension for learners with limited English.
– Improved engagement, confidence, and vocational understanding.
– Supported teacher adaptation and professional growth.
– Enabled efficient and accurate translation of large volumes of learning content.
However, these benefits were realised only when supported by a human infrastructure of expertise, including skilled trainers, digital access, and institutional flexibility.
The project confirmed that technology alone does not create inclusion—people do, through adaptation, collaboration, and reflective practice.
As the chef trainer explained:
“For learners with limited kitchen experience, the introduction of visual aids and structured challenges sparked genuine excitement. These enhancements didn’t just boost engagement—they transformed the learning environment into one where students felt motivated, capable, and eager to succeed. The materials encouraged deeper focus and fostered a sense of achievement, laying a stronger foundation for vocational progress and personal development.”
