Arrival of Government funded laptops supports fight against digital poverty for hundreds of students

Hundreds of students aged 16-18 will have better access to education and support in lockdown as Bradford College has secured funding for more than 800 laptops.

The delivery of 878 devices to the college will help combat digital poverty. It will support many disadvantaged learners aged 16-18 who would otherwise have found it difficult to access online tuition during the Covid 19 pandemic.

With strong support from Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West, the college has been able to gain funding for the technology from the Department for Education (DfE).

“Nobody should miss out because of lack of access to technology”

Craig Tupling, Vice Principal, said: “As a college at the heart of Bradford, this is a hugely important step for us. Nobody should ever miss out on their learning simply because of lack of access to technology. In a city where too many families are impacted by digital inequality, we are proud to support young people to access the outstanding education they deserve, no matter their background and circumstances.”

Support for children in families in lockdown

This academic year, the DfE is providing laptops and tablets to schools to help children and families in need to access remote education during the coronavirus pandemic. Devices are set to be made available for disadvantaged young people who:

• are affected by disruption to face-to-face education at their school
• have been advised to shield because they are clinically extremely vulnerable

Craig added: “We are hugely grateful to Naz Shah for lobbying for the funding on our behalf.

“We also thank the DfE for allocating this vital funding, which will help us to transform the lives of so many young people in Bradford.”

Student supports her fellow learners

In addition to the equipment paid for by the DfE funding, the college plans to purchase more laptops to ensure as many students as possible who need a laptop will receive one. Student Bronagh Hunte has also offered to donate a spare laptop for use by one of her fellow learners.

Thank you to our staff

Craig added: “We continue to work in very challenging times, but our teaching and support staff have pulled out all the stops to make sure our students receive the best possible experience with Bradford College. By making more laptops available to our students, we hope this will support their hard work to ensure students learn, succeed and achieve their goals.

“A very special mention also goes to our IT department which has prepared all the laptops so they are ready to be used by our students. Thanks to their hard work, we have been able to continue teaching online as well as offering support to students and staff throughout the pandemic and none of this would have been possible without them.”

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