March 2026
Join Our New Service User Advisory Council
At ICN, the voices of our community matter. The experiences, ideas and insight of the people who use our services are at the heart of everything we do and we want to make sure those voices help shape what comes next. That’s why we’re excited to launch our brand‑new Service User Advisory Council. This group […]
At ICN, the voices of our community matter. The experiences, ideas and insight of the people who use our services are at the heart of everything we do and we want to make sure those voices help shape what comes next.
That’s why we’re excited to launch our brand‑new Service User Advisory Council.
This group will sit alongside ICN’s Trustee Board and play an important role in guiding our plans, improving our services, and helping us stay rooted in the needs of the people we serve.
If you’ve ever thought:
“ICN should do more of this…”
“I wish there was a group for…”
“I’d love to have a say in what happens next…”
— then this is your chance.
Who can join?
The Council is open to:
- Anyone who has used ICN’s services
- All levels of spoken English — translators can be provided
- People from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences
If you use our services, you’re welcome — your lived experience is your qualification.
What will the group do?
As a voluntary member of the Advisory Council, you will help us:
- Improve our current services
- Tell us what we should do more of (or less of!)
- Share ideas for new activities and support
- Make sure ICN listens well to the people we work with
- Co‑create the Council itself — you help shape how it works
Your ideas and feedback will be shared directly with ICN’s Board of Trustees — the people responsible for ensuring the charity is run correctly and responsibly.
How will it work?
We want involvement to be flexible, accessible and low‑pressure.
You can take part in different ways, depending on what works for you:
- Email feedback
- One‑to‑one conversations
- Small group meetings
- Occasional workshops or feedback sessions
You do not need to attend everything.
You do not need perfect English.
You do not need experience of being on a committee.
You simply need to care about helping ICN be the best it can be.
Our first meeting will take place on Wednesday 22nd April at 12.30pm.
Future meetings will be arranged with the group based on what works best for everyone.
What’s in it for you?
- A real chance to influence ICN’s services
- Build confidence and practise English
- Experience that looks great on a CV
- Feel heard — your voice matters
- Help shape support that will benefit others
- Meet new people and make a positive difference
Interested in joining?
We’d love to hear from you.
To volunteer and put yourself forward — or to ask any questions — please contact:
Emma – e.lee@icn.org.uk
Rebecca – r.fell@icn.org.uk
Or speak to any ICN staff member you know.
Please let us know by Monday 20th April 2026.
We’re really excited to build this together — and to make sure the future of ICN is shaped by the people who know us best.
Your voice matters. Your ideas matter.
Let’s create something powerful, together.
April 2021
Online ESOL Teaching
Below is a blog written by one of our wonderful ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teachers, Christie. We wanted to share it, simply to highlight the *huge* amount of work that goes into making these online lessons effective. Our teachers have made an incredible effort this year to develop new teaching skills, new […]
Below is a blog written by one of our wonderful ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teachers, Christie. We wanted to share it, simply to highlight the *huge* amount of work that goes into making these online lessons effective. Our teachers have made an incredible effort this year to develop new teaching skills, new lesson content and coach their students to develop the technological skills to access their online classes. And it’s not just the teachers who have had to adjust and learn a whole new set of skills; it’s also been a really big step for a lot of our learners. They have had so much to deal with and adapt to during the last year – they have faced financial and employment insecurity, had to home-school their children, worry about the health of family and friends in other countries and yet they still dedicate hours of their week to learning how to access zoom so that they can develop their language skills at home. It is massively out of their comfort zone and it’s a real testament to their resilience that they commit to it anyway! We’ve also loved to see the way that friends and members of the community have been willing to share their knowledge and help others get to grips with apps like Zoom, Teams and other online platforms!
– –
There are numerous challenges getting started in teaching ESOL learners online. So picture me on the phone with ‘B’, whose only device is a phone.
Me: You need to install the Zoom app. Z-o-o-m.
B: No understand.
Me: App store? Install Zoom? (I use Whatsapp to send him a photo of the app on my screen)
B: Ohhh…. (he struggles and mutters and asks incoherent questions while I wait. 20 minutes go by. He is not successful)
B: Go my friend, he help. (he hangs up. I was glad to know he has a friend. An hour goes by.)
N: Hello, I’m B’s friend. How can I help?
Me: (really relieved to deal with a bilingual Kurd. I explain.)
N: Ok. (he struggles and mutters and talks to B in Kurdish. 30 minutes go by. It turns out N does not know what to do.)
Me: Ok, N, please stay there with B. I’m going to find help. (I call my co-worker Jonathan who knows a lot of Kurds, asking for a number for someone bilingual and up on their technology. Soon get a call from Ali. I explain. He knows the other guys. He calls them. Another hour goes by.)
N: (calling from his car outside a supermarket where he had taken B to do some shopping). We did it! We have Zoom in B’s phone! (Another 15 minutes go by. When B comes back to the car, we do a test run so he will know how to use the app. Great to see B smiling from the back seat. I praise the efforts of everyone involved. It only took four hours.)
I had to find a bilingual supporter for each person in the class, either someone in the home or at least reachable by phone, and work with that person to help the student get comfortable with this way of learning. One great side benefit is that zoom lessons have introduced several young Kurds, new arrivals living in different areas, who are all isolated and stuck at home. They use the break times to get to know each other.
Two of the Kurdish boys started well but in the third lesson they were lolling on the floor, faces half in, half out of the frame, I didn’t have a translator available, so I showed what I wanted them to do with pictures:
Thank the Lord, students are connected, support is provided, and they are learning remotely, in this time when we cannot be in the same space.
Christie Murphy – ESOL teacher
April 2021
