Offenders being detained in penitentiary institutions are particularly disadvantaged as regards their access to life long learning. The extension of their individual and social competences facilitating their reintegration is a challenge for adult education in the prison system all over Europe. The KEYS project aims at the development of innovative and transferable models to combine learning and working in prisons in order to improve the educational opportunities for the marginalised group of adult prisoners. A multitude of provisions advancing the development of key competences of prisoners will be developed and piloted in prisons throughout the EU. This includes the development of flexibly combinable learning modules, of models for self organised learning during the working process, for an individualised needs assessment and measure planning and for integrating staff and decision makers into competence and organisational development will be established. As a result, a consistent and innovative educational concept being transferable into the European prison system will be provided. It is directed towards the target groups of prisoners, of educational and non-educational prison staff as well as of decision makers. The project focus is on female and male prisons. Eight partner organisations from six countries will participate in the project consortium that is divided into a development and a review group. Through the linkage of development activities with a broad scale review process, innovative educational models for working prisoners will be developed accordingly to the respective conditions of the different penitentiary systems. The specific needs and individual situation of the heterogeneous group of prisoners thereby will be taken into account. Fostered by a dissemination concept integrating decision makers both in prisons and in justice authorities as well as transnational networks, the results will be implemented on a European wide level.