This grant funded a major one-year project that trained many local people in ‘community reporting’. Funding came from the Community Learning Innovation Fund, managed by the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education (NIACE).

The project was led by Sarah Carre. She worked with a variety of adults, including many with learning disabilities. They learned the basics of radio discussion and interview techniques, and interviewed a variety of people from the community. The project was largely taught in our studios, but for some of the sessions with the Learning Disability groups, Sarah went to their meetings. It worked particularly well when we took the project out in this way, and it inspired us to look for a location in central Folkestone for future work. The project received excellent feedback, especially from the Learning Disability groups involved, who had never before had the opportunity to do such a thing. It’s inspired a number of funding bids for Academy FM projects that continue this work.