Appeal for laptops to support children home learning

Great Minds Together is looking for companies to donate laptops to support home learning for children who don't have access to one. 

The community interest company is a multidisciplinary wraparound team supporting families, schools and services. It works with schools, families and local authorities - including Tameside Council - to tailor bespoke Intervention packages for children and young people with SEND (Special educational needs and disabilities) and/or SEMH (Social, emotional and mental health) needs.

Schools have been forced to close to most pupils for the second time during the Covid-19 pandemic, after the introduction of the latest national lockdown. 

But it's thought that 1.8 million children don't have a laptop to support remote learning. 

With the government delivering just half of the one million laptops promised to support disadvantaged children so far, youngsters in some of the country's most deprived areas are being left behind by the shortfall - at a time when a high percentage of children are learning from home. 

In October, Great Minds Together - based in Stockport - launched a campaign to find #Laptops4Learning.

It's looking for people and businesses to donate a laptop or sponsor a child’s learning to help them support schools and provide laptops to some of the most disadvantaged children.

Emma Mander, Director and Co-Founder of Great Minds Together, said: “Schools across the country have been putting measures in place to support home learning, for bubble closures, and now for another full national lockdown. But how do you deliver that effectively when some of your pupils don’t have access to a computer, laptops or tablet at home? Schools, particularly those in deprived areas, were relying on laptops from the Department for Education.

"The news in October that the allocation has been slashed was just devastating – one school had its allocation cut from 61 to just 13. And now as we enter another lockdown with the majority of children remote learning, the fact that they have only delivered half of the million laptops promised is simply not good enough!”

"So, we need your help, we need people and organisations to help us support these schools and their pupils, to help ensure that no child is left behind." 

Anyone who is able to support Great Minds Together's laptop campaign can get in touch by emailing info@greatmindstogether.co.uk