MELKSHAM’S ReadEasy group, which has been helping people in the local area with literacy skills for the past six years, has reflected on the past year and looks forward to the future.
The group reports, “As in every other aspect of life, 2020 has proved to be a very different year from how we had expected it to be. We were optimistic at the start of the year: we had a dozen or so Readers who were making good progress and were getting enquiries from both new readers and prospective coaches.
“Of course, as the pandemic and lockdown took effect, everything changed. All activity ceased as no one was able to meet up, either for coaching or interviews. However, it became apparent that there were ways that some things could continue in spite of the difficulties. Then, like the rest of the world, we discovered Zoom!
Coaching – We are really grateful to Read Easy HQ staff who have been brilliant in helping us master new technology and in making resources available to us on-line. With their help, we’ve been able to encourage coaches to teach remotely and this has been surprisingly effective. We now have two of our reading pairs making excellent progress using Zoom. However, on-line is not feasible for some readers and their coaching will have to resume when the situation improves.
“Coaches are keeping in touch with readers so that they don’t feel forgotten. We were preparing several of our reading pairs to start up again and had purchased the necessary PPE and arranged for suitable venues.
“(This was quite a challenge as we weren’t allowed to use any of the libraries where most of our coaching takes place). Unfortunately, the second lockdown was then announced and, now of course we are in the third lockdown, so face-to-face coaching is not possible.
“New Faces In January; we were sad to say goodbye to Liz Thompson who had been our brilliant coordinator for nearly three years. We greatly appreciated all her hard work and gave her a farewell gift at our Christmas quiz social evening. Thankfully, Heather Morris had been working with Liz for a few months and was ready prepared to take over this demanding role. We are really appreciative of all the work she has done this year.
“We finally held our delayed AGM in June via Zoom. In it, we expressed our thanks to Esme Howard, Chris Harvey, and Pauline Centa who had stood down. They had all given outstanding time and commitment to Read Easy while serving on the management team.
“We’re pleased to say that Deborah Russell has taken over as our Treasurer. She had trained as a Coach but was persuaded to employ her accountancy skills instead. We have also welcomed Verly Ives to the team as our Venue Organiser. She comes to us after the Art House Café which has sadly had to close its doors.
“Name Change – Six years ago, when Read Easy was formed in Melksham, it was only ever envisaged that we would operate within the town – and maybe the villages around. However, it soon appeared that our services were required further afield and we now have reading pairs in towns such as Chippenham, Trowbridge, Devizes, Bradford-on- Avon and Calne. As a result, we feel that the name Read Easy Melksham doesn’t really convey the right message. We are trying to come up with a suitable new name but haven’t come to any conclusions yet. We’ve come up with ‘Melksham and Area’ or ‘White Horse Vale’ but neither seems to really work. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
“The Write-Offs – Did you catch the TV broadcast called The Write-Offs? Sandi Toksvig presented the great programme that portrays the challenges faced by those with poor literacy skills. It really brilliantly highlighted the needs that Read Easy is here to meet. However, be reassured that we don’t make our readers sit exams!
(You can still catch this programme on All 4)
“Sue Williams has taken on the task of Volunteer Recruiter whilst also acting as Literacy Advisor. As most of our team members currently wear more than one hat, we are always looking to add to our numbers. Any volunteers will be gratefully received!
“Now in 2021, we are hoping that it won’t be too long before we can be up and running normally again. We have several readers waiting to be assessed and a list of volunteers who are hoping to become coaches. We’re all keen to be carrying on with the important work of helping adults improve their reading skills and reach their full potential.
“We at Read Easy Melksham wish you a very Happy New Year after what has been a difficult year and look forward to better things.”
Contact us at melksham@readeasy.org.uk
