What Shannon Trust does

Shannon Trust is a UK-registered charity (Charity No. 1117249 in England and Wales; SC043470 in Scotland), headquartered in London, that delivers peer-led literacy and numeracy programmes to adults in prisons and community settings across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The organisation's core technology is a structured, peer-mentored learning methodology built around two 5-manual curricula: Turning Pages, a reading programme launched in June 2015 and co-created with literacy specialists and adult learners, and Count Me In, a numeracy programme launched in January 2024 and developed with numeracy experts, both designed to be neuro-inclusive and delivered through short, informal sessions rather than classroom-based teaching. The portfolio is complemented by Write Now activity books for writing and comprehension practice and by Turning Pages Digital, a digital delivery platform piloted at HMP Ashfield in 2024 to extend reach into community and probation settings. Programme effectiveness has been validated through an academic review by Birmingham City University, and the methodology relies on training prisoners who can already read to become one-to-one mentors for learners.

The organisation operates programmes in over 100 prisons and reports 11,898 learners engaged and 140,201 learning sessions delivered in the past 12 months, supported by approximately 2,000 trained mentors. Because Shannon Trust is a charity rather than a commercial enterprise, its economics are donation- and grant-driven: confirmed 2024 institutional funding totals £1,000,000 across two £500,000 grants from The Julia Rausing Trust and The National Lottery Community Fund, supplemented by individual donations (with stated giving tiers at £8, £35 and £50), corporate charity-of-the-year and payroll-giving partnerships, legacy giving through the Remember a Charity network, challenge-event fundraising with Run for Charity, and manual sales to prisons and partner organisations via shop.shannontrust.org.uk. All learning programmes are free to learners. Distribution is hybrid: direct programme delivery within the prison estate, channel partnerships with county councils, probation services and community organisations (Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, CFO Hub Nottingham), and an e-commerce shop for manual sales. Leadership transitioned in the recent period, with former CEO Ian Merrill (awarded an OBE for services to prison education) stepping down and Lucy de Groot appointed as Chair of Trustees, and the organisation has launched a 2026-2029 strategy explicitly focused on expanding reach and deepening impact.

Name

Shannon Trust

Legal name

Shannon Trust

Website

https://shannontrust.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shannon Trust is a UK charity that delivers peer-led literacy and numeracy programmes to adults in prisons and communities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, operating structured 5-manual curricula in over 100 prisons and funded by grants, donations and programme manual sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Correctional Institutions (922140)

akta.pro primary industry

Corrections & Reentry Adult Literacy (Justice-Involved Learners) (EDAAAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Foundational Reading & Writing Literacy (EDAAAAAA), Dyslexia & Reading Intervention Programs (EDAMAJAI), Literacy Foundations (Phonics, Reading Fluency, Comprehension) Platforms (EDAFAOAD)

Keywords

• Adult literacy programs
• Prison education
• Adult numeracy training
• Peer-led learning
• Offender rehabilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual one-off and monthly donations from supporters. Donation amounts specified: £10 for certificates and dictionary/calculator, £35 for programme manuals, £50 for mentor training.
2. Corporate Fundraising: Companies can adopt Shannon Trust as charity of the year, provide match funding, participate in team challenges, and engage in payroll giving programmes.
3. Legacy Gifts: Gifts left in wills to support people learning to read and do numeracy for generations to come.
4. Programme Manual Sales: Learning programmes available to purchase from online shop. External organisations, prisons, and wholesale buyers can order manuals.
5. Grant Funding: Major grants from trusts and foundations including Julia Rausing Trust (£500,000) and National Lottery Community Fund (£500,000).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Shannon Trust delivers adult literacy and numeracy programmes to people in prison and in the community, with core offerings comprising Turning Pages (a reading programme), Count Me In (a numeracy programme), Write Now (activity books), and Turning Pages Digital. Programmes are delivered through a peer-led model in which prisoners teach other prisoners, operating as a registered UK charity funded by donations, grants, and sponsorships.

Product overview

Shannon Trust is a charity offering peer-led learning programmes for adults in prison and community settings across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The core product portfolio consists of two structured learning programmes: Turning Pages (a reading programme) and Count Me In (a numeracy programme). Both programmes comprise 5 manuals that learners work through at their own pace with support from trained peer mentors or coaches. Turning Pages is complemented by Write Now activity books for writing and comprehension practice. Shannon Trust has also developed Turning Pages Digital, a digital version of the reading programme to expand community reach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Turning Pages A peer-led adult reading programme designed to teach prisoners to read, delivered across UK prisons using a prisoner-to-prisoner tutoring model.
• Count Me In A peer-led adult numeracy programme designed to teach prisoners basic maths skills, extending Shannon Trust's literacy model to numeracy.
• Write Now Activity books accompanying Shannon Trust's literacy and numeracy programmes, used by learners and peer mentors during sessions.
• Turning Pages Digital Digital version of the Turning Pages reading programme, providing the same peer-led literacy content in a digital format suitable for use in prison and community settings.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11,898 learners engaged in programmes in the last 12 months
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire ProbationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership to support people on probation to learn to read with Turning Pages Digital, providing literacy support to those in the criminal justice system in Hertfordshire.
• Lincolnshire and Leicestershire ProbationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024New service providing literacy support to people on probation in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.
• Creating Future Opportunities (CFO) Hub NottinghamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting people through the gate with literacy programmes at the CFO Hub in Nottingham.
• PRA (Prison Rehabilitation Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership that won silver award at UK ARIAS 2023 for collaborative work in the criminal justice sector.
• Storybook DadsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with Storybook Dads to reach more learners and help connect families through storytelling.
• Run for CharityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership providing exclusive places to major running events across the UK and overseas for fundraising supporters.
• Remember a CharityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to promote legacy giving, with special offers for Shannon Trust supporters through the Remember a Charity network.
• Co-operative Legal ServicesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOffering discounted will writing services (£100) to Shannon Trust supporters as part of the Remember a Charity partnership.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National Literacy Trust: UK charity dedicated to improving literacy across all ages. Comparable as a UK adult literacy charity, but operates at much broader scale and scope (schools, families, communities) rather than specialising in the justice-involved niche.
• Catch-22: Large UK social business working across criminal justice, education and employability. Comparable as a UK criminal-justice and education provider, but with a much broader service portfolio beyond literacy.
• The Reading Agency: UK charity tackling literacy barriers through programmes in libraries, prisons and communities. Comparable because it operates reading interventions in UK prisons and shares Shannon Trust's reading-outcomes mission, though at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• User Voice: UK charity that trains people with lived experience of the criminal justice system to support others. Comparable because it shares Shannon Trust's peer-led, lived-experience delivery philosophy within UK prisons and communities.
• Switchback: UK charity providing one-to-one mentoring support to prison leavers to help them find employment and stability. Comparable as a UK through-the-gate mentoring charity targeting similar post-release outcomes to Shannon Trust's community work.
• Khulisa: UK charity delivering rehabilitation and mentoring programmes in prisons and communities. Comparable as another UK-based prison-and-community rehabilitation provider focused on personal development and reducing reoffending.

Direct peers

• Novus: UK prison education provider (part of LTE Group) delivering learning across the prison estate. Comparable as another major provider of structured learning to UK prisoners, though it operates as a contracted provider rather than a charity.
• Prisoners' Education Trust: UK charity that funds and supports education for people in prison. Directly comparable because it also serves the same primary segment (UK prisoners) with an education-focused offering, complementing rather than competing with Shannon Trust's peer-led model.

Regional players

• Reading Partners: US nonprofit delivering one-to-one literacy tutoring using volunteer mentors. Comparable in its peer-mentor/volunteer-led literacy model, but focused on K-12 children in the US rather than UK adult prisoners.
• The Fortune Society: US nonprofit providing education, housing and mentoring services to currently and formerly incarcerated people. Comparable as a comprehensive reentry support provider, but geographically focused on New York rather than the UK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Shannon_Trust
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCFHn0VZ3CQAWnltjSguJ_Ig
• Facebookfacebook.com/ShannonTrustCharity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shannon-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/shannontrustcharity

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shannon Trust