Finding right support for people on probation 

The Probation Service’s Unpaid Work Initiative (UPW) supports rehabilitation and reduces re-offending through productive work and future employment skills. The programme was interrupted by COVID-19 where face-to-face contact was severely restricted.  In response, His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) innovated to digitise a range of skills and vocational courses to address the backlog of unpaid work. The solution had to meet a rapid implementation timescale and adhere to strict guidelines whilst monitoring impact and delivering a cost-efficient scalable solution. 

HMPPS benchmarks to deliver 1 million learning hours over 4 years 

Smooth delivery of vocational training 

Community Campus – a bespoke cloud-based solution developed by Meganexus (An NEC Company) bridges the gap between PoP and training providers and key workers.  It streamlines support and training, providing a scalable path to reducing the probation backlog by 1 million hours over four years. 

Our content development team used GENAIE (Generative AI for Education) to rapidly develop 20 courses in partnership with UPW managers. These courses balanced technical trades, such as an Introduction to Plumbing, with core workplace certifications like Manual Handling and First Aid to help prepare probationers for the placements and future employment. 

GENAIE is a content-generation platform that helps build lessons and learning resources. It rapidly develops scripts, narration and quizzes for the courses. Designed with secure deployment, the platform includes mandatory engagement features. These prevent “click-through” and skipping behaviours, requiring learners to complete the learning in full to achieve certification. The reporting tools gave insight to the HMPPS staff on how many Unpaid Work hours each individual completed.

Exponential growth and great results 

Since its nationwide rollout in December 2022, the CAPTR-enabled initiative, named Community Campus, has expanded to include over 95,971 monthly active users accessing educational and training materials across the UK. The vocational training programme has undergone exponential growth, with over 804,000 course enrollments and delivering 1,235,492 guided learning hours. A key achievement has been simultaneously reducing the probation backlog while enhancing the employment prospects for people on probation (PoP) as they transition into the workforce.

The impacts of the Community Campus as of Dec 2025 are:  

• High Completion and Pass Rates: the people on probation achieved an average course completion and pass rate of 98% ensuring an increase in Unpaid Work hours.  

• Fast reduction in UPW backlog: HMPPS surpassed its target of delivering 1 million learning hours in just three years – —achieving a four-year rollout milestone a full year ahead of schedule. 
• Increased Accessibility: Delivering courses in 10 languages removed language barriers and maximised access for participants with English as a second language, ensuring learning was truly inclusive and accessible. 

Find out more 

Do you have any questions about Community Campus or the work we do with the probation services? Get in touch with us through our contact us page.