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As a charity we are dedicated to using the power of radio and podcasts to connect people who have experience of prison to education, community, and a sense of belonging – our work with women is an essential part of this.
From one of our radio studios behind the walls of HMP Styal in Cheshire, we broadcast National Prison Radio – the world’s first national radio station for people in prison, founded in 2009.
Offering opportunities for further professional training and education to women leaving prison has been a key focus for our project at HMP Styal. An important stage of this work is working with women on ROTL from the prison as part of their transition back into the community. ROTL stands for Released On Temporary License – which allows prisoners to leave the prison for a short period of time to attend work, education or on some occasions visit family members.
Shannon began working for National Prison Radio in the summer of 2024 and immediately caught the ‘radio bug’. Shannon’s passion for learning production skills quickly saw her taking on popular shows such as ‘NRG’, our Friday night dance music show, and her warm presenting style was an instant hit for our audience.
“Big up Shannon, you’re amazing and I love you, keep on doing what you’re doing, because everybody relies on you for this NRG show.” – Listener in HMP Channings Wood
“Big up to Shannon, you made my life so nice and my time flew by, and I am out in 3 weeks, big love.” – Listener in HMP Ranby
Shannon moved into HMP Styal’s ROTL house in February and was keen to continue her radio training during this transition back to the community. We partnered with Reform Radio in Manchester to develop a radio training placement for Shannon over a period of six weeks.
Reform Radio are a multi-award-winning online radio station and arts organisation working with local creatives, DJs and young people to develop and showcase new work via their online platforms. They work with young people looking for new opportunities, working creatively with them over a sustained period to develop new skills for employment.
Shannon spent six weeks working as a trainee Assistant Producer at Reform Radio, working with Producer and Podcasting Manager, Olivia. Olivia said this about her time working with Shannon:
“Shannon has been helping me to produce and edit features for Reform Radio’s weekday breakfast show, The Get Up. She has been editing interviews and music mixes, making sure they’re appropriate for radio, researching guests, and recording her own segments. Shannon has been enthusiastic and passionate throughout her time at Reform. She has clearly found her calling. She has a love for radio that I can relate to, and matched with her intuition for what sounds good and her talent for editing, I am so excited to see what she goes on to do in the creative industries.”
Shannon has now been released from prison and is looking forward to undertaking further training with Reform Radio as part of their music production and podcasting courses.
Reflecting on her time at Reform Radio, Shannon said this:
“I’m currently working as an Assistant Producer for Reform’s Producer and Podcasting Manager, Olivia. I’m editing clips from people interviewed (one being Craig David!).
I have created a playlist for the ‘Get Up Breakfast Show’ for International Women’s Day and I have written questions to be asked in an interview. I also recently have learnt how to edit video content such as podcasts.
I am enrolled onto the music production and DJing course which I’ll start in April. The feedback I’ve got is amazing and supportive.
The producer said that she was struggling to find things for me to do because I was editing so fast, so thank you National Prison Radio!”
We are hugely grateful for Reform Radio for supporting Shannon in her training and to staff at HMP Styal for facilitating this exciting opportunity. We hope that this is just the start of a new ROTL offer for women working at National Prison Radio in HMP Styal and will equip women with the skills and training to succeed upon release.
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National Prison Radio is the world’s first national radio station for people in prison. It’s available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on in-cell TV.
National Prison Radio was founded by the Prison Radio Association – a registered charity. Our shows help people to cope with life inside prison and thrive on release. If you would like to support our work, and enhance the futures of people in prison across the UK you can make a donation: