The Oxfordshire Learning Partnership has won 49,000 from the Government to set up four community learning projects, writes David Duffy.

Sara Binns, the Heart of England Training and Enterprise learning development officer co-ordinating the project, said: "This is an important move towards helping people to improve basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics.

"It will spread knowledge on a one-to-one basis by training helpers in the community organisations to help others and will involve learning and working with computers." The organisations being supported to develop a basic skills programme are Restore, an Oxford charity that rehabilitates people with mental health problems through work and training; Gemini Day Centre, Oxford, which also works with people who have mental health problems, Grimsbury Family Association, Banbury, and the Sunshine Family Centre, Banbury, both of which are community groups.

The first stage of the projects will be to train helpers and support staff and to promote the programme. The county council co-ordinators for the projects are Vanessa Kenyon, in Oxford, and Karen Fairfax-Cholmeley in Banbury.

A recent Learning Partnership report showed although the county has one of the highest qualified workforces in the country, about 70,000 adults, or 19 per cent of the adult population, has low literacy and numeracy skills.

Ms Binns said: "These projects are one of the ways in which we are tackling this challenge."