EIS ALP project is set from the beginning on finding out what it is that a prison educator has to do that is different or over and above what teachers in other areas of the lifelong learning sector has to do. It is clear that the challenges of an “outside” adult learning professional coming to work in a correctional criminal justice system are high. Due to the strong involvement of LLP programs, prison education in Europe has taken quite a development in the last years. But still, not even at national levels (and for sure not at European one) the competency profile, the training pathway and professional development of teachers in prison are not clear. EIS ALP partners have been building up European experiences (individually and in cooperation) in prison education for more than 7 years. Gradually we started working in closer networks until we realized that the key for effective prison education is working on the competencies of teachers even before they enter the system. We started developing more generic projects that build up to EIS ALP initiative. We plan to develop a web-based tool for adult learning professionals to assess and further develop their key competencies in prison education. This simple phrase holds a complex amount of work in a territory fairly unexplored: what are the key competencies of an adult learning professional that works in the correctional criminal justice system. In other words, what sets apart a prison teacher from a “regular” adult educator? At this point there is no unitary answer to this question, neither at national nor at European level. We will base our work on the Key Competencies for Adult Learning Professionals, but from there on, working on EIS ALP will involve a high level of originality and stakeholder involvement. Based on our findings we will develop a tool that takes the “regular” adult educator on a discovery journey in becoming a prison teacher.