Hello <<First Name>>

I’m very pleased to announce that Good Things Foundation has been appointed by the Office for National Statistics to support the delivery of the next Census in England and Wales.

In 2021 the Census will be ‘digital first’ and available through an online platform, and we will provide support to ensure those without digital skills or digital access can participate through our Online Centres.

By working with community organisations in the Online Centres Network, we’ll be able to provide support that recognises the other barriers faced by those who are offline, including unemployment, low confidence and disability. We’ll also be able to create the opportunity for people to keep building their digital skills, through other programmes offered by Online Centres.

This is going to be a really exciting opportunity for our network so watch this space as there will be the chance for you to get involved closer to the time.

Best wishes
Helen Milner OBE
Chief Executive
Good Things Foundation

Read the full story on the Good Things Foundation website

We’re launching a brand new series of Share and Learn network events and we really want to involve the network as much as possible. The first will be held in Manchester on Tuesday 10 September at the St Thomas Centre.

How can you get involved?

We’re looking for members of the Online Centres Network to share experiences of engaging people with digital in a 5-10 minute lightning talk to colleagues at the event. This could either be about the most challenging barriers you face or the biggest successes you’ve had with people taking their first steps with digital.

Or you could pick from another theme such as:
• Experiences of supporting people with Universal Credit claims
• Building successful partnerships and collaborative working

If you’d like to be a key part of our first Share and Learn event, please complete our short expression of interest form and one of our friendly Network Team will be in touch to discuss your idea further.

ONLINE CENTRES NOMINATED FOR HOMELESS LINK AWARDS

We’re delighted to announce that several of our Online Centres have been nominated for the Homeless Link Excellence Awards. Congratulations to; Connection at St Martin’s, Changing Lives, Stonewater, P3 and Cathedral Archer Project.

You can read more about the awards and other nominees over on the Homeless Link website.

Clearing the path: Online Centres help people connect with government

Our HMRC project is now approaching the fifth year of supporting people to use HMRC services including Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Tax (PAYE), VAT and National Insurance.

Following a one year pilot beginning in April 2015, nearly 50 Online Centres have been providing support in their communities from 2016 onwards. The project has now surpassed its targets reaching 29,925 people over three years. We’re very pleased to have been successful in securing another year's funding to reach a further 7,700 up to March 2020.

Natalie Thorpe, Digital Social Inclusion Manager at Good Things Foundation has written a blog all about the HMRC project over on the Good Things Foundation website.

We visited Online Centre, North Manchester Communities Partnership to hear their thoughts on the project and how the fund has helped their learners. Watch the video below to find out more.

ONLY 4 DAYS TO GO UNTIL OUR JOINING FORCES EVENT IN BIRMINGHAM

There’s not long now until our Joining Forces event on Monday 20 May in Birmingham. Thanks to everyone who has booked on already, we’re looking forward to meeting so many of you.

We’ll be joined by a range of partners from varied fields including Birmingham City Council, Locality, UK Mens Sheds Association, St John’s Ambulance & Smartlyte.

If you haven’t booked your ticket already, there’s still time.

Register today

UPDATE: Basic Digital Skills calls - coming in-house!

Many of you may have received calls over the years from an external company getting in touch to hear about your basic digital skills activity. Following feedback from the Network, we’ve reviewed how we get in touch with you here at Good Things Foundation and have decided to bring these calls in-house.

We’re in the process of recruiting a new member of staff to the Network team over the next few weeks to dedicate their time to this and believe this change will make the communications you receive from us more helpful and streamlined.

NATECLA FRAMEWORK FOR GOOD PRACTICE FOR VOLUNTARY ESOL IN ENGLAND

NATECLA is developing a Framework for Good Practice for Voluntary ESOL in England and would like your views.

This framework is intended to give guidance to voluntary ESOL organisations, volunteers in education centres, and to volunteers working alongside other professionals who interact with ESOL learners.

Please complete this short survey before Friday 7 June to help contribute to the framework.

All contacts in the Online Centres Network agree to receive the weekly newsletters when they sign up to join the network but if you think you shouldn't have received this email, then please let us know at hello@goodthingsfoundation.org or unsubscribe below.