What's available this week

We hope to have a weekly list of what is available to publish here as events become more coordinated. 

TUESDAYS

1-3pm Connect Café, Parish Rooms, Church Street, Chipping Norton OX7 5NT (including translators) 

THURSDAYS 

10-12am St Mary’s Church, Charlbury, OX7 3PX (including créche) 

FRIDAYS 

10-12am Charlbury Community Centre, OX7 3PQ

Practical support

LOCAL SUPPORT

There is lots of help locally that people want to offer.

St Mary’s Church, Chipping Norton

Charlbury Refugee Action Group (CRAG)

GOVERNMENT ADVICE

You can find the updated government advice here:

UK Government website

HELP FOR HOSTS

There are lots of great web pages, set up by various charities, helping host families. Sanctuary have some great videos tackling some of the key issues with frequently asked questions too.

Sanctuary Foundation

Diocese of Oxford

BENEFITS AND BANKING

You can find advice on banking here:

Learn more

FREE MOBILE PHONES AND LAPTOPS

Vodafone to offer free mobile connectivity to 200,000 Ukrainian refugees. Find out more here.

Click here further details about free laptops and IT support or email your request to laptops@asylum-welcome.org.

Getting ready for school

SCHOOLS IN CHIPPING NORTON

There are 2 primary schools (ages 4-11), and a Secondary School (ages 11-18) in Chipping Norton.

St Mary’s Church of England School (Primary)

Holy Trinity Catholic School (Primary)

Chipping Norton School (Secondary)

HELP WITH PROVIDING A UNIFORM IN OX7

If you would like help financially and practically to buy the correct school uniform please email ukrainesupport@thebranchtrust.org

LANGUAGE SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN

We hope to be able to offer language sessions - full of fun and play - for children throughout the summer holidays, helping them to prepare for school.

If you are interested in either helping with language lessons or taking part, then please email ukrainesupport@thebranchtrust.org.

WHAT IS AN ENGLISH SCHOOL LIKE?

Below is a link to some great educational packs to help primary and secondary aged children transfer from the Ukrainian to the British education system. There is also one for parents to introduce the main structures of the British education system. They have been produced by Wandsworth Council, but are largely relevant to children/students arriving anywhere in the UK.

Language support

LESSONS FOR ADULTS

We are offering free language lessons to adults from TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teachers. If you are interested in either helping with language lessons or taking part, then please email ukrainesupport@thebranchtrust.org.

Free English classes in Oxford

Oxford St Clare’s International School is offering free language classes - please email karen.heath@stclares.ac.uk

Free online resources

Free online resources for Ukrainians settling in the UK and Ireland from Open University: www.open.edu/openlearn/supporting-ukrainians

Informal English lessons in Witney

English lessons available at High Street Methodists Church in Witney.  After the English class, you are welcome to stay and chat over refreshments. If you have any questions or need help, please speak with one of the team members, who will be there. Everyone is welcome. If you have children and you have no one to leave them with, you can bring them with you. But you need to remember that you are always responsible for them. To find out more email witneyukraineresponse@gmail.com.

LESSONS FOR CHILDREN

We hope to be able to offer free language sessions - full of fun and play - for children throughout the summer holidays, helping them to prepare for school. If you are interested in either helping with language lessons or taking part, then please email ukrainesupport@thebranchtrust.org.

SUPPORT FOR TEENAGERS

St Edwards Teenage Social 5-7pm every second Tuesday and they are also offering language lessons. Please email moffattr@stedwardsoxford.org (Rachel Moffatt).

Free Holiday Clubs and leisure facilities

SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN WELCOME AT HOLIDAY CLUBS

Towards the summer holidays there will be a number of holiday clubs local to you that will be free to all Ukrainian guests.

Learn more

LEISURE FACILITIES ACROSS OXFORDSHIRE

At the end of May a new card (called the U MOVE card) will be launched which will give free and discounted access to leisure facilities.

GLL who run West Oxfordshire’s Leisure Centres (including Chipping Norton) are offering 3 months free gym membership to Ukrainian guests. Please contact your local Leisure Centre directly. You will need your Visa details to apply.

Food

INSPIRATION

Ukrainian families love to cook together, and their diet is quite different from ours. Sour cream and dill are a must for the fridge! This website has some Ukrainian recipes you might like to try:

https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/ukrainian-foods/

HELP

If you / your host are finding access to food difficult here are some places that can help:

The Chippy Larder 

North Oxfordshire Community Foodbank

FREE SCHOOL MEALS

Ukrainian children will automatically qualify for Free School Meals until their benefits are calculated. Along with other FSM pupils, they will also be able to claim a £15 voucher per pupil for food throughout the summer holidays. This will be administered by schools, and you should contact the school the child has applied to.

Free Transport

FREE PASSES

Stagecoach buses will issue individual free Mega Rider passes on a one to one basis if the applicant applies directly to their email address: oxford.enquiries@stagecoachbus.com.

Villager Buses (incl Chippy Shuttle) are free to Ukrainian passengers - just need to indicate this to the drivers.

Do you want to offer help?

If you would like to offer a service - maybe a haircut, a meal or a lift - then please enter your offer on our forum where we hope your offer matches the needs.

Please note that this is a private arrangement between the host / guest and yourselves and cannot in anyway be endorsed or overseen by the work of The Branch or St Mary’s Church.

We will be setting up a forum to offer help soon - please watch this space.

Worship

A SPACE FOR PRAYER AND WORSHIP

We are hoping to offer a space for prayer and worship for Ukrainian guests, and have a local Russian speaking vicar who is ready to facilitate this.

For more information please contact ukrainesupport@thebranchtrust.org.

UKRAINIAN SPEAKING CHURCH

There are a Ukrainian church and a cultural centre in Reading.

Support our partners on the frontline

Jonathan Glasgow-Vasey, a member of The Branch Team, went out to visit a Christian Retreat Centre in Slovakia (IN Network Refugee Centre) to see how we could best support them as they rapidly repurposed into a centre to receive Ukrainians. Since the war began, Slovakia, a country of only 5 million and a neighbour of the Ukraine, has received 500,000 refugees.

Many have seen and experienced trauma that is unimaginable to most, and carry pictures on their phones of their homes that have been destroyed. They arrive with only the clothes they wear and what they can carry. Whilst they were so grateful for the truck loads of goods that arrived from the west as the war broke out, now they are keen to support the local economy by buying goods locally. 

We are currently setting up a page on St Mary’s Church website where you can find out more about this trip and how you could support, for instance, just £5 will pay for a hour with a child psychologist. This will help many children to manage the trauma they have experienced and give them their childhood back, £15 will buy a sanitary pack for a whole family when they arrive. As well as being able to welcome Ukrainians here, this is an opportunity to help those who have lost everything and are awaiting new homes.