The Journey of Spike’s Sight Words: From Childhood Classrooms to Adult Literacy

When I first set out to invent Spike’s Sight Words, my immediate focus was on children. As creators of tactile, physical board games, our mission has always been to encourage schools and teachers to step away from screens and apps, bringing education back to basics through hands-on learning.

However, even in the earliest days of development, I knew that the foundational principles behind our games had a much broader horizon. Literacy struggles do not magically disappear when a person turns eighteen.

Recognising the Wider Need

Over the last few years, looking closely at the data and realities of adult education revealed a staggering picture: official figures show that around 50% of all inmates in the UK have reading levels of a 10-year-old, highlighting a massive challenge within the incarcerated population.

These statistics represent real people who slipped through the cracks of early-years education, often leaving school unable to read well enough to fill out a job application, read a bus timetable, or navigate everyday life. Teaching adults who struggle with reading requires materials that break down barriers without feeling patronising or overly childish.

The Power of Diversity in Design

This is where the true advantage of having 30 different designs comes into play. Because our range is diverse, tactile, and rooted in physical play rather than digital child-centric apps, the mechanics can easily cross the age divide. While the framework helps children master their early words, the exact same core mechanics can be adapted seamlessly for adults who need a dignified, hands-on path to literacy.

Here are key facts and statistics regarding literacy challenges among prisoners:

  • Official Literacy Levels: Ministry of Justice and HM Inspectorate of Prisons data show that 57% of adult prisoners have literacy levels below those expected of an average 11-year-old.

  • Functional Illiteracy: Estimates indicate that roughly 50% of prisoners are functionally illiterate, meaning they struggle significantly with reading, writing, and basic communication tasks required for everyday life.

  • Barriers to Existing Education: Joint reports by Ofsted and HM Inspectorate of Prisons have highlighted that standard prison education programs often assume a baseline ability to read, meaning up to half of illiterate inmates cannot even read well enough to join standard English skills courses.

  • Daily Challenges in Custody: Inmates with low literacy face severe daily hurdles, such as struggling to read prison notices, fill out meal choice menus, understand instructions, or read letters sent from home, which can leave them feeling isolated and vulnerable.

  • Link to Reoffending: Research consistently links a lack of basic literacy and qualifications to reduced employment prospects post-release, which directly correlates with higher rates of reoffending. Conversely, engaging prisoners in education and improving foundational skills helps build routine, improves anger management, and substantially lowers reoffending risks.

When adults enter the custodial system with foundational literacy challenges, the implications stretch far beyond individual embarrassment or frustration; they create a daily barrier to basic safety and navigation. Inmates with low reading levels struggle to read prison notices, comprehend vital instructions, fill out meal choice menus, or even read letters sent from home, leaving them isolated and vulnerable within the facility. For society as a whole, this lack of basic literacy severely damages employment prospects post-release—a factor that directly correlates with higher rates of reoffending. Conversely, investing in accessible, hands-on educational resources breaks this cycle, helping inmates build vital daily routines, improve communication, and secure a genuine second chance at a productive life outside.

Our intervention kits bridge the critical gap in adult education by providing a dignified, tactile, and screen-free pathway to literacy that meets learners right where they are. Because traditional prison education programmes often assume a baseline reading ability that many inmates simply do not possess, these hands-on resources bypass traditional learning barriers to offer immediate, accessible support.

  • Dignified, Screen-Free Learning: Designed to look and feel engaging without being patronising or overly childish, allowing adults to rebuild foundational skills with confidence.

  • Tactile Multi-Sensory Approach: Utilises physical components rather than digital applications or apps, making it ideal for adult learners who benefit from hands-on engagement.

  • Versatile Framework: Leverages flexible designs that can be seamlessly adapted from early-years education to adult intervention settings.

  • Daily Empowerment: Helps inmates navigate custodial life independently by improving their ability to understand basic instructions, read notices, and connect with loved ones through written correspondence.

  • Supporting Rehabilitation: Fosters essential routine and communication skills that boost post-release employment prospects and actively help lower the risk of reoffending.

  • To ensure our intervention kits meet the unique, specialised needs of mature learners in custodial environments, we have thoughtfully adapted our resources from the ground up for adult provisions.

  • Recognising that adult learners require materials that feel respectful, professional, and entirely tailored to their stage of life, we have developed a dedicated, age-appropriate instruction booklet alongside a customised adult progress tracker.

  • These additions are designed to strip away any potential stigma, foster genuine confidence, clearly track personal milestones, and provide a dignified, empowering learning journey every step of the way as inmates rebuild their foundational literacy skills.

Spike’s Sight Words is pioneering a brand-new approach as the world’s first literacy intervention kit delivered in the form of an educational board game. By replacing digital screens and traditional text-heavy textbooks with an engaging, tactile, and physical gameplay experience, this innovative method has the power to revolutionise how literacy is taught in prisons. It breaks down the intimidating barriers faced by adult learners who cannot access standard English courses, offering a dignified, age-appropriate, and hands-on pathway that builds real-world communication skills, fosters confidence, and ultimately transforms rehabilitation behind bars.

If Spike’s Sight Words successfully helps inmates overcome their literacy barriers, the ripple effects will be profound, creating transformative changes for the individuals themselves, the custodial facilities, and society as a whole.

What it Means for the Inmates

  • Restored Dignity and Independence: Being able to read basic notices, navigate daily custodial life, and fill out meal choice menus without needing help restores a crucial sense of autonomy.

  • Connection with Loved Ones: Literacy unlocks the ability to read letters sent from home and write personal correspondence back to family, helping to maintain vital emotional lifelines during a sentence.

  • Personal Confidence: Using a respectful, age-appropriate, screen-free tool allows mature learners to build foundational skills from the ground up, replacing shame with the pride of genuine achievement.

What it Means for the Prison

  • A Bridge to Further Education: Because our tactile intervention kits bypass the traditional reading barriers that prevent up to half of illiterate inmates from joining standard English skills courses, they provide a reliable on-ramp to wider institutional education.

  • Smoother Daily Operations: Facilities benefit when learners can independently comprehend instructions, signage, and facility rules, reducing administrative friction and misunderstandings.

  • Improved Safety and Well-being: Engaging inmates in structured, hands-on learning builds positive daily routines and better communication skills, which contributes to improved anger management and a safer, more constructive prison environment.

What it Means for Society as a Whole

  • Drastically Reduced Reoffending: Research consistently demonstrates that basic literacy and qualifications directly correlate with better employment prospects post-release, which is one of the most effective ways to lower reoffending rates.

  • Successful Rehabilitation and Reintegration: By equipping former inmates with the fundamental tools of communication, society gains productive, self-sufficient citizens who are far better prepared to secure jobs, support their families, and stay out of the criminal justice system for good.

As we look to the future, our newly launched paid trial with Novus marks a monumental milestone for Spike’s Sight Words, and its success is of the utmost importance. This pilot represents a vital proving ground for whether tactile, screen-free educational board games can fundamentally reshape adult intervention in custody. If this trial goes well, our vision extends far beyond basic literacy: we will look towards developing more complex vocabulary resources, alongside producing specialised mathematics and emotional regulation tokens designed to provide a comprehensive, holistic foundation for the rehabilitation and successful reintegration of inmates.

  • Call to Action (CTA):

    Are you an educator, prison governor, or reform specialist interested in learning more about our adult intervention kits or upcoming trials? Get in touch with the Spike’s Sight Words team today to discover how we can help transform literacy in your establishment.

  • Looking Ahead / Vision Statement:

    True reform begins with the fundamentals. By stripping away digital distractions and returning to tactile, human-centred learning, Spike’s Sight Words is proud to lead the charge in giving every learner—regardless of their background or environment—the tools they need to rewrite their story.

  • Press / Enquiries Sign-off:

    For press enquiries, pilot feedback, or to learn more about bringing Spike’s Sight Words into your educational facility or custodial setting, please contact our team directly.