Digital inclusion
Get Online Reading is RVA’s digital inclusion project, which makes use of Reading’s highly IT literate population to help those who don’t have the skills or opportunity to make use of the internet. The project’s sessions in libraries and community venues are currently on hold, in line with social distancing guidelines, but the Get Online team can still offer telephone support. Call RVA on 0118 937 2273 to leave your details and one of the team will call you back.
Kooth: new online counselling service for young people in our area
Berkshire West CCG, Wokingham LA, West Berkshire LA and Brighter Futures for Children have jointly commissioned the online counselling service Kooth, a service delivered by XenZone. Kooth will now be an integral component of Berkshire West’s mental health provision offering digital counselling and emotional wellbeing service for young people and young adults. Read more here:
- March 2021: Find out all about Kooth from Berkshire Engagement Lead Jenny Fennessy
- New online support network for children and young people struggling with mental health difficulties
Top tips on how to talk to young children about coronavirus
A video made by The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford in collaboration with Blackpool Better Start.
Books and leaflets
- RBC coronavirus advice in Bengali, Hindi, Nepali, Polish, Punjabi, Urdu and Konkani.
- My Back to School Bubble aims to help children understand the new protective measures that may be in place at their school, in an age-appropriate way. It reinforces public health messages including the importance of hand and respiratory hygiene, while reassuring children that everyone makes mistakes and helping to combat feelings of anxiety that have been reported by parents. The published story is available as a free download and can be found alongside other Covid-19 resources on the e-Bug website.
- Top tips for Autistic and ADHD children returning to school in September 2020 – download this information leaflet produced by Autism Berkshire and Parenting Special Children.
- Free book explaining coronavirus to children, illustrated by Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler.
