News and views

Making the connection

Peer-led learning has proven successful for Shannon Trust for many years and is a key part of our programmes. Read about how connections make a difference to learning.

Shannon Trust’s priorities for the new government

Our CEO looks at what our top 3 priorities are for the new government.

New partnership project helps people on probation to learn to read

Shannon Trust is working in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire probation to support people to learn to read with Turning Pages Digital.

Matthew’s story: from mentor to award winner

Matthew shares his journey of becoming a Shannon Trust mentor and winning mentor of the year.

Nick’s story: learning with Turning Pages Digital

Nick shares his experience of learning with Turning Pages Digital and the difference it has made to his life.

"I’m so grateful and wish I could thank every one of you."

Marcus shares his story of learning to read at HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

Learning to read with Turning Pages Digital

Henry talks about his experience of learning with Turning Pages Digital and the difference it has made to his life.

Never too late to Learn

One learner wrote a poem on their experience learning to read

Matthew’s story: from mentor to award winner

Matthew shares his journey of becoming a Shannon Trust mentor and winning mentor of the year.

Interview with a peer advocate

Our Communications and Fundraising Manager sat down with Rob, a Shannon Trust peer advocate, to discuss being a mentor in prison and continuing to support us on release.

A visit to HMP Wormwood Scrubs

Amy, Communications and Fundraising Manager at Shannon Trust, visited HMP Wormwood Scrubs recently. Here she shares her experience of the day.

My mentoring journey so far

Richard shares his experience of being a mentor so far at HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

Making the connection

Peer-led learning has proven successful for Shannon Trust for many years and is a key part of our programmes. Read about how connections make a difference to learning.

New partnership project helps people on probation to learn to read

Shannon Trust is working in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire probation to support people to learn to read with Turning Pages Digital.

Celebrating outstanding achievements

We recently got the opportunity to celebrate some of our incredible volunteers and award winners of the Tom Shannon Award for Outstanding Contribution.

Meet the volunteer team

Meet Chloe and Vicky, our new Volunteer Network Leads. Find out more about them, and the future of volunteering at Shannon Trust.

Shannon Trust’s priorities for the new government

Our CEO looks at what our top 3 priorities are for the new government.

Shannon Trust and Storybook Dads helping to break the cycle of low literacy

We are working with Storybook Dads to reach more learners and help connect families through storytelling.

Mentors benefit from peer-led programmes too

Our CEO shares his thoughts on how learning to reading can also benefit our mentors.

Learning to read in prison – it's just the start

In our CEO's latest blog post, he talks more about the joint report on reading education in prison.

Making the connection

Peer-led learning has proven successful for Shannon Trust for many years and is a key part of our programmes. Read about how connections make a difference to learning.

New partnership project helps people on probation to learn to read

Shannon Trust is working in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire probation to support people to learn to read with Turning Pages Digital.

Celebrating outstanding achievements

We recently got the opportunity to celebrate some of our incredible volunteers and award winners of the Tom Shannon Award for Outstanding Contribution.

Meet the volunteer team

Meet Chloe and Vicky, our new Volunteer Network Leads. Find out more about them, and the future of volunteering at Shannon Trust.

One Page: Reflections – on our progress, and our plans

In the latest edition of One Page, Ian reflects on our achievements over the past 3 years and looks at our plans for the future.

HMP Lewes reading fair

Chloe shares her experience of a recent visit to HMP Lewes for their reading fair.

One Page: Behaviour in prisons – peer-led change

Ian looks more closely at the peer-led initiatives mentioned in the Chief Inspector of Prisons’ recent review on improving behaviour in prisons.

One Page - Supporting each other

In April’s edition of One Page, Ian writes about a celebration event he recently attended at HMP Pentonville and why these are important for recognising progress.

A visit to HMP Wormwood Scrubs

Amy, Communications and Fundraising Manager at Shannon Trust, visited HMP Wormwood Scrubs recently. Here she shares her experience of the day.

Shannon Trust awarded £500,000 from National Lottery Community Fund

Shannon Trust are delighted to have been awarded a grant of £500,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund - our largest ever 2 year grant award.

One Page: Adding in numeracy

In the latest edition of One Page, Ian talks about introducing numeracy to our learning offer and the launch of our very own numeracy programme, Count Me In.

One Page: Bringing people together and making things happen

In this edition of One Page, Ian talks to one of our mentor coordinators about how volunteering with Shannon Trust has changed their life.

One Page: Learning to read really is for everyone

In our first edition of One Page for 2024, Ian writes about how learning can have a positive impact on everyone involved.

One Page: Learning to read helps family and friends stay close

In the final edition of One Page for 2023, Ian writes about how learning to read helps people develop stronger connections with their loved ones.

One Page: How we help adults learn to read

In November’s edition of One Page, Ian writes about how with the right tools, anyone can teach someone to learn to read.

Turning Pages Digital - one year on

Our Community Delivery Manager reflects on what we have learned from the Turning Pages Digital pilot.

One Page: You need not be a teacher to teach anyone to read

To mark World Teachers’ Day, our CEO writes about why our peer to peer model works and what more could be done in prison and in the community.

Day in the life: CEO

Shannon Trust's CEO shares an overview of what his working days look like.

Day in the life: Training Delivery and Content Manager

Scott shares an overview of what his day looks like as the Training Delivery and Content Manager at Shannon Trust.

Day in the life: Regional manager

Milly shares her experience of being the regional manager for the north east.

Day in the life: Business Support Assistant

Emily shares an overview of what her day looks like as the Business Support Assistant for Shannon Trust.

Day in the life: prison facilitator team leader

As a prison facilitator, Dan shares what his day looks like and the enjoyment he gets out of his job.

Day in the life: area coordinator

As a volunteer for the south west, Andrew share his experience of the role so far.

One Page: Back to school time

In this back to school special of One Page, read more about how investing in peer-led literacy and numeracy programmes could impact economic productivity.

One Page: One year on

After the recent one year on report from Ofsted and HMIP into reading education in prisons, our CEO reflects on the past year at Shannon Trust.

One Page: When working together comes good

In this month’s edition of One Page, our CEO talks about the great work he has witnessed so far in the prisons where Shannon Trust has dedicated prison facilitators.

One Page: Our grant funders’ part in Shannon Trust’s work

Read the latest edition of One Page about how grant funding and individual donations means we can continue to running our programmes.

One Page: Scaling up Shannon Trust’s reading support

In response to the Chief Inspector of Prisons' latest blog post about reading in prisons, our CEO talks about how we have been taking our programmes to the next level.

Partnership wins silver award at the UK ARIAS 2023

Shannon Trust and PRA were among some incredible nominees and winners, picking up the silver award for their partnership.

One Page: Reading and maths – building foundations

Learning to read and do basic maths can open up the doors to many more opportunities. Read more about how our programmes are about building the right foundations.

One Page: Shannon Trust’s 3 year strategy – our first annual impact report

In the latest edition of One Page, our CEO talks about our progress so far with our 3 year organisational strategy.

One Page: Peer led learning – a different way to learn

A key part of our programme, and perhaps the most more important thing, is that it’s peer led. Read more in the latest edition of One Page, written by our CEO.

In memoriam of Tom Shannon

We are sad to hear about the passing of Tom Shannon. It is because of him that Shannon Trust exists today.

One Page: Partnerships – working together to reduce crime

By joining forces with other organisations, we have seen how much of a greater impact we can make to people in the criminal justice system.

Mentors make the programme!

In the latest edition of One Page, our CEO talks about how Shannon Trust wouldn't exist without our mentors.

One Page: Supporting our people to grow

In this month’s edition of One Page, Ian expands on how we’ve created an environment that encourages our staff to support one another and learn from things that go wrong.

Shannon Trust and Storybook Dads helping to break the cycle of low literacy

We are working with Storybook Dads to reach more learners and help connect families through storytelling.

One Page: Innovation as an evolutionary process

Innovation doesn’t necessarily have to mean creating something new. Sometimes it’s about investing in the things that already work.

One Page: The 4 disciplines of executing your strategy

What is the best way to execute a new strategy? In our CEO's latest blog post, Ian talks about the 4 disciplines that are helping us to achieve our goals.

One page: Building the right strategy requires ‘just enough leadership’

In this month's edition of 'One page', our CEO talks about how building a new strategy was crucial for Shannon Trust's development.

What I like about volunteering for Shannon Trust

Michael Wemms, Chair of the Board of Trustees, shares why he enjoys volunteering for Shannon Trust ahead of Volunteers' Week 2022.

One page

Our CEO introduces his new monthly newsletter, where he will talk about the people he has met, and the things he has read or seen relating to Shannon Trust's vision.

Drama raises funds and awareness for Shannon Trust

The Script in Hand raised a fantastic £395 for Shannon Trust during the debut of their new historical play.

Linda, HMP Dartmoor librarian

Linda shares her experience of working as the librarian at HMP Dartmoor and delivering the Shannon Trust reading programme.

Jenny, HMP Bristol librarian

Ahead of National Librarian Day, Jenny shares her experience of working as a librarian at HMP Bristol.

Shannon Trust to receive an incredible £80,000 from The Big ASK

Shannon Trust are delighted to announce an incredible donation from The Big ASK

Shannon Trust announces significant grant award

Shannon Trust are delighted to announce a new, significant grant of £500,000 from The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust.

HMP Dartmoor showcase an outstanding reading programme

Members of the Shannon Trust team visited HMP Dartmoor to see newly trained mentors receive their certificates.

Shannon Trust organisational strategy 2022-2024

Shannon Trust shares their new 3-year organisational strategy

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