Digital inclusion hub Knowsley Disability Concern
I’m Angela Ellis, Associate Director of Digital Inclusion Delivery. I visited Knowsley Disability Concern in Merseyside. They’re part of the National Digital Inclusion Network and offer a range of services and support to people with many challenges, including people with learning disabilities and people with English as a second language. By using people’s own devices plus some of the organisations own tablets, they embed digital skills training wherever possible.
This was certainly the case on the damp, autumnal Thursday morning when I met Jo and Ruth, the project coordinators, in a local park to set up a QR treasure hunt. Within 30 minutes we’d secured 18 clues to trees, benches and other park paraphernalia before welcoming a group of 12 learners, and staff from Al’s Arc day centre.
In our wellies and coats, the small group I joined used their phones and the tablets to scan the clues, solving the riddles and supporting each other to read these out. Most people had never scanned a QR code before and some didn’t have the data to enable them to use their phones when out and about. Despite this (and I may be biased!) our group was definitely the quickest, charging through the clues and getting back to the park’s meeting room with plenty of time to spare.
Despite recent cuts to funding, Knowsley Disability Concern offers many more services and support to local people. I heard about some of the challenges and hardships faced by the people they work with, and I explained how the Databank and the free data it provides could benefit these individuals.