Cabinet to provide laptops following Government scheme shortfall
Telford & Wrekin Council Cabinet Members have launched their Laptops for Learning scheme enhancing the government scheme and support hundreds of children who have fallen between the gaps of the national scheme which was announced in April. The scheme will provide more than 250 laptops to children.
The scheme is funded by the Leaders’ and Cabinet Member Grant Scheme as supported by the Councillors’ Pride Fund. The two schemes will run alongside one another with the Leader and Cabinet Members requesting match funding from ward councillors across the borough.
The Cabinet scheme will provide devices to children to continue their learning from home who will not receive a device from the government scheme and is limited to children in Year 5 who meet a set criteria determined by their school.
The devices will be assigned to children who do not have access to suitable devices at home to support their learning online during the current partial school closures.
To enhance the laptops the Council have installed each device with additional educational software, including Microsoft Office and online learning packages such as BBC Bitesize. Measures will also be installed to ensure children’s online safety at home.
Every primary school in the borough that has requested a device will be provided with at least one device through this scheme.
Leader of the Council Councillor Shaun Davies said: “We are delighted to launch the Leader and Cabinet Laptops for Learning scheme so further children in our borough can continue their learning from home.
“We realised there was a shortfall with the Government’s scheme and Head Teachers were clear with us hundreds of children were falling between the cracks of the national scheme and we wanted to support these children. Providing extra devices can make a huge difference to the children in the borough for the start of the next academic year.
“We are stepping in to help with the shortfall of the government scheme and to support the most vulnerable children who may otherwise fall through the gap, providing extra learning devices making a real difference to the children in the borough supporting their online learning opportunities.
“I also want to say a big thank you to many Town and Parish for match funding allocations made by ward members.”
Councillor Shirley Reynolds Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, Education & Lifelong Learning said: “We have taken the government scheme and enhanced it to by including additional educational software so children can continue their learning at home.
“The Cabinet Laptops for Learning Scheme is an extension of the government scheme as not all vulnerable young people were going to receive a device. We wanted to ensure children were not disadvantaged.
“This is an amazing opportunity to change the educational journey for the children in our borough who without this support may fall behind their fellow pupils.
“We will deliver devices as soon as next week.”
The following Ward Councillors have funded this scheme:
Mark Boylan • Andy Burford • Eileen Callear • Lee Carter • Concepta Cassar • Graham Cook • Shaun Davies • Arnold England • Nathan England • Rae Evans • Ian Fletcher • Veronica Fletcher • Carolyn Healy • Vanessa Holt • Amrik Jhawar • Janice Jones • James Lavery • Jackie Loveridge • Angela McClements • Raj Mehta • Kelly Middleton • Tim Nelson • Gemma Offland • Richard Overton • Jane Pinter • Gilly Reynolds • Shirley Reynolds • Stephen Reynolds • Hilda Rhodes • Kuldip Sahota • Peter Scott • Jackie Seymour • Charles Smith • John Thompson • Karen Tomlinson • Chris Turley • Paul Watling • Derek White • David Wright.
