With the help of local businesses, Wakefield Council is gifting refurbished IT equipment to help children who don’t have access to equipment and wi-fi that enables them to do their schoolwork, including homework, at home.
The situation has become more challenging for these children during the coronavirus pandemic when children were learning from home.
The idea was suggested by young people representing the Build Our Futures Forum and UK Youth Parliament when they presented their findings at the Children and Young People Partnership Board last month. They identified digital poverty as a barrier to many young people accessing education, especially when isolating at
home and being expected to undertake school work online.
Liam, a member of the Build Our Futures Forum, said: “This will be a fantastic opportunity to those children and young people, who are less fortunate than others, to access support they need, to have access to their education and ensure
that no young person in Wakefield falls behind.”
The scheme was launched on Monday 7 December, backed by a £64,000 council investment and eight local businesses donating IT equipment, which the Council will be able to gift to children who need it most.
The programme will be administered through the Council with children and young people in care being the first group to benefit.
Businesses that would like to donate equipment can contact: digitaldonations@wakefield.gov.uk.
