21 September 2020
The Council (RBC) have created an easy-access version of the national coronavirus test and isolate messages.
In the interests of reaching as many residents as possible with important coronavirus safety messages, the Council now has a webpage that brings together locally produced information and signposting to national resources in different languages: www.reading.gov.uk/coronavirus-translations
11 September 2020
Council Meetings can be watched online or afterwards
Update and Consultation on RBC Services During Lockdown
Face Coverings - Who needs to wear them & how to make one
More Reopenings from 4 July - Jason Brock
Green bin collections resume 27 April
Council Focus on Business Support
6 August 2020
1st October celebrates United Nations Day for Older People, and this year Reading's Older People’s Day Planning Group is organising a Memory Project, to capture a snapshot of this unique time and how it affected the older people of Reading. The Group is made up of residents, members of the Reading's Older People’s Working Group and voluntary sector organisations.
Their aim is to collect stories and materials to make a record of older people's thoughts, memories and experiences of the pandemic, so future generations will understand what was experienced and how it felt for them.
The Group are asking those working with older people to encourage and help them take part. You can download their Memory Project Template, which is designed to help facilitate the collation of memory items including pictures, videos or poems.
3 August 2020
Healthwatch Reading, produce regular helpful and interesting information on local health issues. Their latest Newsletter includes a very good Guide to using local health and care services as lockdown eases, which you may find helpful.
1 July 2020
Here are some of recent posts from Healthwatch Reading, which you may find helpful.
Healthwatch also produce regular newsletters on local health issues.
We developed this page to provide sources of help and advice at the start of the lockdown, when things were changing frequently. Now, as many restrictions have been lifted, we are removing and editing sections that no longer seem relevant. We will continue to post new information and help on our Facebook page, for which you don't need a Facebook account for.
Our local Reading Voluntary Action organisation also has a wide range of useful information for individuals and groups, and nationally we like the information provided by the Eden Communities Project.
Healthwatch Reading have provided this helpful Local Guide to Health & Care Services during the pandemic.
For those who are able these groups may be of interest
Other ways to help
If you would like to make a donation, then you might consider these organisations:
Local
National
International
The Council's response and details of how their services are affected can be found at: https://www.reading.gov.uk/coronavirus
Council Committee meetings are currently being held online and the public are able to observe them, in line with the recent government regulations.
Here's what various celebrities and others are offering you and your kids for free daily to help with their education while schools are closed: Home Education
The British Psychological Society - https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/schools-really-out
Gruffalo illustrator, Axel Scheffler has produced a book about Covid-19 Coronavirus just for children - available as a FREE download at:
https://nosycrowcoronavirus.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Coronavirus-ABookForChildren.pdf
Donations requested in lieu of payment, to www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/
Reading Chronicle https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/18333718.readings-snow-princess-parties-deliver-free-entertainment-children-facebook-live/
Much has changed since the lockdown was eased, but the Which Magazine have maintained a table of Supermarket Opening Times, these includes times specifically allocated for vulnerable people or for key workers.
At the start we developed a list of the many local suppliers who offered a range of goods and some also delivered. Whilst they may no longer provide the same services, here was the last list we published, which may be useful: Local Food Deliveries and Collections
RVA have put together information about how to keep in touch: http://rva.org.uk/keeping-in-touch-online/
This is a stressful time for many of us, so we hope these websites will be helpful.
If you know or are a vulnerable person who has no support, then the One Reading Community Hub action line can connect people in need of help with: volunteers, organisations and services that can support them during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Please only contact the hub for urgent welfare needs, when no family member or trusted friend can help. Their telephone no. 0808 189 4325 is open 9am-5pm, five days a week.
https://www.futurelearn.com has a huge range of fascinating and free on-line short courses, from Universities all over the world. Typically, they take 4 or 5 hours a week.
Read about WEA courses on the RVA website. The Workers's Education Association is the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult education in England and Scotland. It's first volunteer-led branch was opened in Reading in 1904.
General advice from Sports England https://www.sportengland.org/news/how-stay-active-while-youre-home
Reading Sport + Leisure have listed useful links which offer exercise ideas for all ages and abilities.
There are many different videos and online classes available for all levels, which we will list here, as hear we about them.
