We spend a lot of our time thinking about how we can get out and about in Stockport to reach as many people as possible to help them be online. Sometimes though, it is easy to assume if someone who lives in Cheadle for example needs help, we need to go to Cheadle (and we do by supporting digital champions at the library there every Friday morning). This said, it isn’t always about geography, sometimes it is about going to where people feel connected rather than rooted. 

Signpost for Carers is one of those places. Working with Bryony has been an absolute delight and we are over the moon that our new digital champions: Roland and Carole are now confident to help out at Annie’s Cafe each month. Today they supported 8 carers to do things online. Things like using the NHS app, paying for parking, sorting out emails and using social media to keep in touch. 

There is a great chance that those 8 people wouldn’t have walked into one of our sessions nearer to where they live, so by going to places that people also happen to go to, even if that reason isn’t about digital, we get to support them in a place they trust.

Learning about online tools can feel overwhelming for some. In trusted spaces, people can access group learning and support from digital champions or familiar faces that make the learning process less intimidating and more effective. This approach helps create a supportive, positive first experience with technology, increasing the likelihood that people will continue exploring online resources independently. We call it reducing the learning curve and we talk about it in our free Digital Inclusion Best Practices online course that you can access HERE

We are looking forward to seeing how Roland and Carole get on at Signpost for Carers and we are grateful to Bryony for welcoming us into such a fab organisation.

Recognition:

• Recruitment and training support for digital champions based in Stockport funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
• Our support to help local organisations become digital trusted spaces is funded by the UKSPF funded by The UK Government and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority as part of the Digiknow network.
• Ongoing funding for hosting and maintaining our free online training platform for digital champions in Greater Manchester funded by Cellnex Telecom.
• Our digital champions use the Learn My Way training platform offered for free by Good Things Foundation.