The government has provided £300,000 in additional funding to help Redbridge residents access English language training.

Redbridge Council announced that it had secured an additional year of funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s £6.6 million English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) for Integration Fund.

The grant will go to the English for Every Day project, which helps more than 500 Redbridge residents who have little or no English language access.

The programme is delivered by the borough’s adult education provider, Redbridge Institute.

Will Pickford, principal at Redbridge Institute, said “We are delighted that we will be able to continue to provide this extremely valuable training in Redbridge, helping to improve the lives of our residents and build better communities across the borough.

“The first phase of this project demonstrated how successful high-quality English language training helped to break down barriers and support people integrate into their communities and so we are extremely happy that we can continue this work for another year.”

The Redbridge Institute, which was rated outstanding by Ofsted in 2018, provides educational services to more than 4,000 part-time students every year.

Working with community partners, a network of 15 ESOL hubs and creative clubs will recruit participants from priority wards across the borough.

A team of ESOL tutors from Redbridge Institute and volunteer ESOL ambassadors recruited from the community will be trained to run class and club activities.

Cabinet member for stronger communities, Cllr John Howard, said: “It is great news that we have been successful in getting an additional £300,000 for the English for Every Day project which means we can continue for another year.

“This will help so many residents in Redbridge, who would otherwise have little or no access to learn the English language, gain the essential language skills they need to help them fulfil their potential and to increase their integration into the local area.”

The project extension will run from September 2021 to May 2022 and is open to any Redbridge resident.