Prison Volunteer - North East

Do you want to join an organisation committed to addressing low literacy and numeracy? Volunteers are essential to Shannon Trust and bring their energy, ideas and skills to train mentors in prisons, support learners in the community and enhance our business support team. We are looking for volunteers to provide training and support to our mentors in prison in the North East area. This could include visiting any of the following prisons: HMP Frankland, HMP Holme House, HMP Durham, HMP Northumberland, HMP Low Newton, HMP Deerbolt. There may be some additional preparation and/ or administrative tasks in between volunteering days at the prison. Our prison volunteers nurture the growth of the Shannon Trust in their prison. They help unlock the power of reading by delivering training sessions for prison mentors and offering ongoing advice, guidance and support through mentor meetings. Volunteer recruitment dates The closing date for applications to attend our next round of training is 6 September 2026 . In some circumstances, volunteer vacancies may close early. Successful applicants will be sent interview questions in advance with notice to prepare. We will respond to all applications. Successful applicants will be invited to an interview between 7 and 18 September 2026 . This is an opportunity for you to meet our regional team, to find out more about you and for us to share more information about the volunteering role. Training: You'll be given high quality training to prepare you for volunteering with Shannon Trust. This takes place over 4 training sessions and via our online training portal. We ask that volunteers aim to complete the training in one course as this means that you will be ready to start actively volunteering. The next training sessions for volunteering for people applying to be a prison based volunteer will take place as follows. Please check that you can attend all of the training the dates prior to applying : 8 October 2026, 10am – 1pm (via Zoom) 15 October 2026, 10am – 1pm (via Zoom) 22 October 2026, 10am – 1pm (via Zoom) 12 November 2026, 10am-4pm (in person session, London) You’ll also receive the opportunity to attend ongoing training sessions and peer support meetings during your time as a volunteer to build your skills and experience.