10 Laptops Help Elmbridge Children
Access Home Learning
“Our priority has been to make sure that all children at Bell Farm Primary School have had the opportunity to get the education they deserve. Unfortunately, many of our children have not had access to laptops. The generous donation from Walton Charity and The Recruitment Consultancy will help the children who need it most to thrive and succeed. We are extremely grateful for their kind support.”
Since schools closed in late March, Elmbridge children without access to a computer or tablet have found themselves unable to engage in online schoolwork. They also struggle to keep in touch with family and friends.
Local company, The Recruitment Consultancy, made a generous donation of 5 new laptops which we matched with a further 5 new laptops. Two local primary schools, Bell Farm and Walton Oak have received these laptops and they will loan them to the children who need them most.
Dan Sorling, Headteacher of Walton Oak School says “We can sometimes forget just how powerful the technology of today is. During lockdown months, access to technology has been a lifeline in terms of keeping in touch with friends and loved ones, accessing learning resources and being creative generally. Those children who have not had access to tablets and computers have clearly had additional challenges to overcome and will have found it significantly harder to establish a consistent, reliable routine to progress their learning. These 5 laptops will be allocated to pupils/families who are likely to have been most affected. I know they will be greatly appreciated and have a positive effect on both learning and wellbeing.”
Recent research by the Education Endowment Foundation suggests current school closures will widen the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers by an average of 36% and will reverse any progress made to narrow the gap since 2011. Supporting effective remote learning is one of the best ways to ensure this gap doesn’t widen further. *
If you would like to help local families hardest hit by the crisis, please donate to our COVID-19 Response Fund