Education & Young People Community & Social Justice 2025
Shannon Trust

Shannon Trust Impact Report 2025

Shannon Trust is a UK charity that has operated for over 20 years, supporting people who can read to teach those who can't — in prisons and communities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The 2025 impact report covers a year of transition and consolidation, in which 11,380 learners were engaged, 1,980 mentors trained, and over 1,300 mentors accredited via a new AQA Level One qualification in Teaching Reading across 78 prisons. Income reached £3.57 million, up from £1.1 million in 2022. 57 prison contracts were held. The Turning Pages Digital tool was piloted at HMP Ashfield, and community post-release pathways were developed with Ingeus CFO Hubs. Ministry of Justice data published in September 2025 confirmed that nearly three-quarters of initial maths assessments and two-thirds of initial English assessments by people in prison result in an entry-level score — reaffirming the scale and urgency of Shannon Trust's mission.

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📋About

Peer-led prison literacy programme (Turning Pages); numeracy programme (Count Me In); Turning Pages Digital and Count Me In Digital (in development/pilot); AQA Level One mentor accreditation; volunteer training and resource forums; post-release community pathways project; prison library contract at HMP Ashfield; partnership with Prison Radio Association; coaching via Ingeus CFO Hubs in West Midlands, East Midlands and North East Custom geography from upload: England, Wales and Northern Ireland

📊Key Metrics

11,380 learners engaged with reading and/or numeracy programmes in 2025, across 57 contracted prisons plus additional non-contracted settings Key Metric 1
4,841 Turning Pages reading manuals and 2,833 Count Me In numeracy manuals completed; 1,980 new mentors trained and 1,300+ accredited via AQA Level One in Teaching Reading across 78 prisons Key Metric 2
Total income of £3,571,583 in 2025, up from £2,468,002 in 2023, with contract income of £2,233,988 and trust/foundation grants of £1,053,289 Key Metric 3

✅Key Outcomes

  • Over 1,300 prison mentors accredited via a bespoke AQA Level One in Teaching Reading across 78 prisons — recognising the skills developed by people in prison as they teach others to read, enhancing their employability on release and providing concrete evidence of learning progression for the first time in Shannon Trust's history
  • 91% of people in prison surveyed said they had heard Shannon Trust mentioned on Prison Radio, with over half saying it had inspired them to talk to a mentor, improve their reading, communicate more with family, or become a mentor themselves — demonstrating the power of peer-to-peer awareness inside the prison estate
  • Shannon Trust reached an estimated 15% of the UK prison population in 2025, up from 10% in 2022, while staff turnover reduced by 10% and sickness rates by 1.5% year-on-year — with income growing from £1.1 million in 2022 to £3.57 million in 2025, reflecting rapid and sustainable organisational growth

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