How can we ensure that no school-age child in Oxfordshire falls further behind due to lack of digital resources? Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) commissioned Oxford University’s Student Consultancy to measure the size of the digital exclusion problem, and consider solutions.
Having made online statistical mapping tool Local Insights freely available in April, we have now updated the data sets and area reports. The latest data is showing the economic impacts of COVID-19 locally.
Following the lockdown of educational and childcare services in March, think tanks and educators alike have predicted the widening of the attainment gap for disadvantaged children. Growing Minds has quickly responded, adapting the project to offer the best support to our families during lockdown, and planning for a more challenging future.
Oxford City Council has secured 124 rooms of interim housing for the next year, meaning that there need be no return to the streets for former rough sleepers currently housed in hotels and student blocks.
After leading Oxfordshire Community Foundation for 10 years as Chief Executive, Jayne Woodley steps down on 30th June 2020. She has led the transformation of OCF from a small grant-making body with extremely limited resources to the ambitious, sector-leading organisation of today.
With the continued lockdown, we wanted to update you on how we have adapted and what OCF and its partners have learnt in the last 12 weeks. From awarding over £500k in grants, to housing the homeless, to working and (lunching!) virtually and Zoom becoming a verb (and not just a great song!) Read on to catch up on our journey since March..
Two projects, supported by funds raised through Oxford Homeless Movement, are aiming to help homeless and vulnerably housed people transition successfully from emergency Covid-19 accommodation to an independent life in their own self-supported housing.
Services include food parcel delivery, online exercise and arts classes, and printed flyers signposting people without internet access to the facilities available.
Donors to the Step Change Fund were to gather on 7th May to hear from Project Managers and charity leaders about the impact of their philanthropy. Instead, an annual review and impact summary celebrate the achievements of the fund.
Growing Minds, the collaborative project convened by OCF to tackle educational inequality, has had to adapt quickly to the circumstances imposed by the coronavirus outbreak. Partners are moving some elements of the project online, whilst other aspects have become more important than ever in the current context.