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Care leavers, children with a social worker and
children arriving from Afghanistan will receive laptops and
tablets to enable them to access education and support
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New investment builds on support for disadvantaged
young people, to complement classroom teaching
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An additional half a million devices will be provided
to schools, colleges and councils over the coming months,
building on the 1.3 million already delivered during the
pandemic
Up to half a million more disadvantaged children and young people
in England will receive new devices to support their education
and help keep them connected to peers and professionals, through
a £126 million funding programme.
Ahead of Care Leavers Week (25-31 October), the government has
today announced an expansion of the Get Help with Technology
programme, with up to 10,000 devices for children with a social
worker and those leaving care. Laptops and tablets will help
these vulnerable young people stay in touch with their social
workers, personal advisors and wider support networks, along with
supporting their education or training.
Devices will also be allocated to children who have recently
arrived from Afghanistan, to help them to adjust to life in
England and support their education.
Additional devices will be provided to schools and colleges to
help give children and young people who are not in school or
college due to Covid access to lessons, keeping them connected to
their classmates and teachers.
Education Secretary said:
“Our £126 million investment in laptops and tablets for those
children who need them most will complement learning in school,
and help drive our work to level up long term outcomes for those
in care or leaving care.
"This added investment builds on the 1.3 million laptops and
tablets we have already provided during the pandemic, helping all
children and young people, no matter their background, to access
education and support for a better and brighter future.”
The additional devices build on significant ongoing support for
children in the social care system and young people leaving care,
as part of the government’s commitment to level up outcomes for
all.
This includes the Care Leaver Ministerial Board which is
improving opportunities for care leavers as they proceed to
independence and adulthood, and alongside the ongoing independent review of
children’s social care.
As part of the Get Help with Technology Programme, the new
investment will help support students with homework and
out-of-school learning, alongside the government’s £3 billion
education recovery plans, which include an ambitious tutoring
programme to help students catch up.
Schools, colleges and councils will be invited during November
and December to order their allocation of devices, which will be
determined by the proportion of pupils on free school meals and
numbers of care leavers in each local authority.
The scheme builds on the successful delivery of laptops to
support remote learning and access to essential social care
services during the pandemic.
The department is also making £13 million available to schools
and colleges that need to buy IT support to set up the devices.
The funding also covers the costs of resetting and reconfiguring
devices previously received via Get Help With Technology, which
will allow schools to make full use of them in the long-term.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
In May we announced
Care Leavers would be supported through continued funding
including:
- £33 million in ‘Staying Put’, which helps looked after
children stay with their foster carers after their 18th birthday
if they wish to;
- £3.6 million for the ‘Staying Close’ pilot which gives extra
support for young people leaving residential care, and £12
million for councils to continue to provide personal advisors to
support care leavers up to the age of 25; and
- £2.7 million to provide intensive support to care leavers at
high risk of homelessness, as part of the government’s Rough
Sleeping strategy.
To give Afghan children and young adults the best start in this
country the government is also providing at least £12 million to
prioritise additional school places for children to be enrolled
in schools, and to provide school transport, specialist teachers
and English language support to assist with learning.
