The New Springs Community Centre in Scholes, Wigan, celebrated its second year of supporting older learners with a visit from the Mayor of Wigan, Ron Conway, who commended the centre for the work it has been doing to support learning in the community.

The New Springs Community Centre was set up by Lorraine and John Fox. John had been a ULR with the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) for 15 years at Hovis in Wigan and encouraged Lorraine to also sign up as a ULR nearly three years ago.

When John was made redundant he came up with the idea to open the New Springs Learning Centre. Their local church, St John the Baptist was under threat of closure and so he thought it would be a good idea to help fund the church and give anyone in the area a chance to learn computing. 

The idea was run past John Vickers, Project Manager at BFAWU Leaning Services who thought it was a great idea and with the full support of the union and local councillors the project was funded.

New Springs is a computer club, though they can offer other courses, and mainly aimed at older learners with a Tuesday afternoon drop in session. They have 6 laptops and iPads as for some people it is the only way they can access a computer.

Lorraine Fox said:

We provide anything that the learner wants to learn, from using Microsoft word, making calendars, filling in forms on-line, printing and scanning photo’s to social media and skype."

Though the club isn’t only for older learners Lorraine and John soon discovered that this group were being left behind by technology and there was a very real need for support.

We realised it was this generation that needed our support and with a little patience we aimed to bring a new dimension to their lives so they didn’t feel as secluded and alienated. They could see their children and grandchildren with their laptops and iPads whizzing through their homework and social media with ease and they felt the need to learn themselves."

Learners, when confident, are signed up to Learn My Way to gain IT skills and have found the site good for new leaners and those with some basic computer knowledge.

New Springs Community Centre have had about 50 people through their doors so far, and this is growing all the time, and this wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the BFAWU.

Lorraine said:

Although I am not in employment the BFAWU has been very supportive in providing the equipment to run the centre. They see the benefits it has brought to the community and are fully on board."

New Springs is now more than a place to learn, they are planning social evenings to bring together learners outside the classroom, and encourage new people to get involved, as well as raise much needed funds for the building.

Lorraine added:

It’s not just somewhere to learn but to make new friends and have a fun afternoon. Tuesdays are a pleasure to run and hopefully we can continue for a lot longer."