The ‘Include Us In’ project, run by Frome Community Education, will receive extra funding for the IT and basic skills hub on the mezzanine at the Cheese & Grain.
The project is supported by Somerset Skills Learning (SSL) and its Community Learning Partnership.
Sessions will be extended to run from Mondays to Wednesdays from 10 to midday. Over the last two years, the FCE project has been helping people with IT needs to fill in forms, find work, and become more familiar with computers and the Internet.
So far, sessions have been generously supported by Frome Town Council and with the extra funding from the SSL partnership, the team can extend to 3 mornings a week. There will also be funding to continue ESOL (English for Speakers of other Languages) classes in the summer and some new ‘healthy eating’ cookery sessions.
The friendly team at the Cheese & Grain; Sue (IT tutor), Annita (literacy tutor) and James (volunteer) has been quietly helping people with basic skills, including support for reading and writing, as well as guiding people through some of the labyrinthine processes of Universal Credit, job search, CV preparation, creating and using an email address and even helping people register to vote, renew a bus pass or EHIC card.
Frome’s mayor came to visit the IT hub last week and to talk to some of the people who have benefited from these sessions. Cllr Richard Ackroyd said, “Over the course of this past year I have come across any number of organisations each doing valuable community work. This project is exactly the sort of initiative we should all be supporting and is yet another great asset for Frome and for the people who feel they are on the wrong side of the digital divide.’
Annita says, “Users of the sessions at FCE are delighted as further funding from SSL has meant we can offer another two hours of support a week to those who struggle with IT and basic literacy. Thanks also to Frome Town Council funding, the literacy sessions are able to offer 1-1 support to those who struggle with reading and writing. If you know anyone who needs support with something as basic as learning the alphabet, or a little more complicated, such as making sense of and filling out forms, navigating websites, writing letters, etc. tell them about our free drop-in sessions and they will get the help they need from one of our team.”
Sue Klepper says, “We are so grateful to Frome Town Council for funding our drop-ins. It means people can see us at the precise moment they need help and this flexible approach lets learners attend at times that work for them, and it’s all free.
“With the new funding from SSL, we can further this work to help people from Frome and the surrounding area. It is a much more joined up approach for people who do not have access to computers, formal classes or private means.”
