Shannon Trust transforms lives by supporting people to learn to read. We believe nobody should be left out of learning.
Shannon Trust transforms lives by helping more people experience the positive impact of learning.
We are a registered charity, and work across all prisons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to train and inspire people in prison who can read and do numeracy to teach those who can’t.
Each year, we help thousands of people in prison to learn, so that they can build a different, more positive future for themselves and their families. We also work in partnership with organisations in the community to offer reading and numeracy support to those who are caught in the criminal justice system.We provide everything needed for someone to learn, including our reading resource, Turning Pages, and our numeracy programme, Count Me In. Sessions are one to one, take place outside formal education, and learners work at their own pace. Our programmes enable more people in prison to gain fundamental skills that they need to navigate daily life. It provides people in prison with access to education, training and rehabilitative courses that will help them to address their offending, gain new skills and move into employment.For thousands of people in prison, and in the community, learning to read and understand basic numeracy can completely transform their life.
Our work in prisons:
Over 60% of people in prison struggle with reading. Some cannot read at all. Around two thirds of people in prison struggle with basic numeracy skills.
Learning to read and do numeracy transforms lives. It means people in prison can access more opportunities, improve their confidence and rely less on others for help. Because our programmes are peer to peer, both mentors and learners develop key skills that can help them find future employment.
We know a lot of people have had bad learning experiences in the past, so our programme is designed to be different. Find out how it works below.
Our work in communities:
15% of adults in the community struggle to read.
Shannon Trust has partnered with a number of services in the community to help them learn through our Turning Pages manuals, with the help of volunteer reading coaches and self study resources. The programme is tailored to the learner, and is run in the way that works best for them. Through our community work, we are developing pathways to help learners and mentors continue working with Shannon Trust after they have been released from prison.
We provide partner services with the tools and resources to deliver their own community reading programme.
