Latest news and events

The No Limits Programme is a partnership between SOFEA and Aspire, funded by OxLEP. They help people break through barriers to employment, building skills and confidence, helping them get online providing laptops and connectivity, and additional practical support for example with transport. Hear from Aspire’s Nataliia Zadesenets on her experience with the programme to date, since coming to Oxfordshire!

Hear Marcia and Taraji from the No Limits team describe this employability programme and the difference that digital devices are making.

The Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership (OIEP) is working to tackle some of our region’s biggest problems to create a fairer environment where everyone can contribute and share in its success, and launched its new Charter in January 2023, to encourage support for and commitment to making Oxfordshire a fairer and more inclusive place to live and work.

Did you catch Getting Oxfordshire Online on BBC Radio Oxford last month? Hear from Project Manager Ben Tuppen, of SOFEA Didcot, on how the project started, how it is going and where it is headed!

Find out more about Connect!, the Citizens Advice project established in April 2021 where trained Volunteers visit clients to help them make the most of their digital devices for FREE.

What is Getting Oxfordshire Online and who is involved in the partnership? Watch our latest video to find out – with thanks to our friends at Nominet.

Two of Oxfordshire’s most enterprising charities, SOFEA Didcot and Aspire Oxfordshire, have joined forces to launch the new ‘No Limits’ Project to support the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) ambitious Social Contract programme.

The ‘Getting Oxfordshire Online’ project featured highly in ‘The Inclusive Economy in Action’ event in early May, organised by Aspire Oxfordshire in support of the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership (OIEP), the Oxfordshire Social Enterprise Partnership (OSEP) and Oxfordshire’s Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP).

Current estimates are that 1500 Ukrainian refugees including 600 children will be arriving in Oxfordshire in the coming weeks. As well as continuing to support others in need across our community, we are working hard to help newly-arrived refugees stay connected at this incredibly difficult time.

Getting Oxfordshire Online project partners are delighted to have received financial backing from .UK domain name registry Nominet, whose work as a public benefit company funds an ambitious social impact campaign tackling digital exclusion.

After working with partners to convene and initiate Getting Oxfordshire Online, Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) is passing the coordination of the project into the capable hands of the delivery partners from February 2022.

Be Free Young Carers worked with Getting Oxfordshire Online to provide much-needed laptops to young carers, which helped this already disadvantaged group keep up with school work during the pandemic, and stay connected with their social networks.

With the latest variant of COVID-19 causing a self-isolation crisis, the Getting Oxfordshire Online partnership is keen to reach more people who cannot reap the benefits of internet access.

Some families do not qualify for benefits such as Free School Meals, but their household income is only just over the threshold, which means the cost of a laptop can be a serious burden to them. Six students from Cheney School have received extra help via Getting Oxfordshire Online.

The 11-18 secondary comprehensive school near Blackbird Leys serves some of the most disadvantaged communities in Oxfordshire. A donation of 32 refurbished laptops from Getting Oxfordshire Online is helping more students access their learning.

The county’s longest-established independent recruitment agency, Allen Associates, has donated seven laptops to a new initiative which is spearheaded by Oxfordshire Community Foundation and run by partners including Aspire, Oxford.

Online learning platforms have become popular tools to complement in-person learning in schools. Now two disadvantaged pupils at Didcot Girls’ School can access the same learning as their peers thanks to donations of rebuilt laptops.

Some families do not qualify for benefits such as Free School Meals, but their household income is only just over the threshold, which means the cost of a laptop can be a serious burden to them. Six students from Cheney School have received extra help via Getting Oxfordshire Online.

The Getting Oxfordshire Online partnership is encouraging people to give them unwanted laptops to be refurbished and passed to disadvantaged school students, older people and job seekers across the county.

Oxford Computer Consultants (OCC) is a lively, growing software company based in the centre of Oxford. They are passionate about developing software that makes a useful contribution to society.

The team set out their aspirations to address the needs of thousands of people in Oxfordshire who are not online. Their vision is that by 2025, the majority of those who are not currently online will have the digital access they need.

Oxford City Council has provided a further 70 pre-owned laptops to help children in the city learn online, in addition to 50 donated to an Oxford school earlier in the year.

School children going back to school will need laptops to support them with their learning.

This session by the business networking group B4 was the chance to hear from schools and community outreach organisations about the continued problem of digital exclusion.

Getting Oxfordshire Online will refurbish devices donated by the public and local businesses for school children, isolated older people and others in need.

The first phase of the project aims to help existing users, who already have access to a device, become more confident.

Over recent years, more and more services and parts of our day-to-day life assume that everyone has online access, an email account and the skills to use a device.