Shannon Trust fulfils an unmet need around adult learning in prisons. We support people who have fallen through the cracks in formal education by providing them an opportunity to learn in a safe environment with someone they can trust.
We know some people in prison have experienced past trauma or negative experiences associated with learning. Our programmes are designed to be different from traditional classroom environments. We have no exams, no pressure, and people can learn at a pace that works for them.
What is peer mentoring?
Shannon Trust was founded over 20 years ago and came from a simple goal – to encourage more people who end up in the prison system to learn to read or improve their literacy skills. The aim is to support rehabilitation, better prepare people for successfully integrating and positively contributing to society, and overall reduce reoffending.
Peer mentoring at Shannon Trust is a system where people in prison have the ability to read and understand numeracy, teach those who can’t. We train those who have the skills to be ‘mentors’ and pair them up with learners who need support. These mentors don’t need to have formal qualifications, just a willingness and the patience to help others.
Research shows that peer mentoring can be an effective way for people from all backgrounds to learn. It can be a way to connect with someone in a similar situation as you, and build a strong level of trust and respect, which can all aid the ability to learn. It can also be particularly beneficial for those who have had a hard time with mainstream education in the past – such as a structured classroom environment. By working with someone in relaxed and short one-on-one sessions, it provides people the opportunity to learn at their own pace without added stress or pressure.
Our programmes
We have two different programmes – one that is reading based called Turning Pages and one for numeracy called Count Me In. Our programmes focus on the key practical skills that people need in their daily lives, to help them build their independence and skills, both in the criminal justice system and beyond.
Prison population is forecast to keep increasing every year, and low literacy levels in prisons are currently at an all-time high with over 70% of people in the prison system struggling to read. To combat this, we believe our programmes are as important as ever.
Our programmes are designed to make it as easy as possible for an adult who has difficulty with reading and numeracy, to begin to learn and improve their skills.
Important feedback
Celebrating learning is at the heart of what we do. We aim to champion people in a prison environment to learn in a way that suits them and provide the opportunities to do so via peer mentoring. We regularly hear feedback from our learners about the impact their regular one-to-one sessions have.
“My mentor has really brought me out of my shell. With learning, he breaks everything down and explains everything to me, so I understand. Without him I would still be really struggling, and I wouldn’t have the confidence to learn,” said one of our learners.
For many people in prison, not being able to read or understand numeracy can be hugely detrimental – even basic tasks like filling out important prison forms might not be possible, which can lead to frustration and shame. Many of our learners tell us how life-changing learning has been for them.
And it’s not just learners. We often hear from mentors how rewarding they find the opportunity to work with others and help them learn.
One of our former mentors reflected on the skills he developed through his role as a mentor. “It deepened my sense of empathy and give me a greater understanding of the needs of others. It also helped me build confidence. Supporting individuals who genuinely needed my help and seeing them make progress with skills I had once taken for granted, allowed me to grow as a person and gave me the belief that I could make a positive difference in other people’s lives.”
At Shannon Trust, we believe in the power of reading and education to change lives for the better. This year so far, we’ve had over 1,000 new mentors trained across our prisons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and over 2,500 reading manuals completed as part of our Turning Pages programmes. Our future aim is to keep building on this so we can work towards a future where nobody is left out of learning.
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