DfE has already provided over 50,000 4G wireless routers for children in secondary school with a social worker, care leavers and children in year 10 without access to the internet. There is further work with telecommunications companies to provide mobile data support to school children who are unable to access the internet.

BT is also announcing direct support for a number of key initiatives, offering access to the BT Wi-Fi network as a pilot for the DfE scheme. These are:

• Schools Home Support has partnered with Raspberry Pi via the Bloomfield Trust to quickly provide devices for learning at home to the families they support that don’t have them. These will now come with Wi-fi connectivity for 6 months.
• Kids Out’s ‘Kids In’ initiative to support families who are self-isolating in women’s refuges after escaping domestic violence.
• Barnardo’s support for vulnerable children and young people who may be locked down in homes where they suffer from ‘digital poverty’ and so do not have any access to fixed internet at present.

Janine Stannard, CEO at School-Home Support said: “Digital poverty during lockdown has created a home learning disadvantage gap for many children and young people. With so much of school being delivered online, access to technology and the internet has become a major barrier to education. At SHS, we have been working hard to connect families with the essential technology they need to succeed - but securing internet access has been a challenge. So we are thrilled to have the support of BT. This will make a tremendous difference to the families we support, enabling pupils to finally access the online education they have been missing.”

BT’s Skills for Tomorrow programme is designed to empower 10 million people, by giving them the skills they need to flourish for the digital world. Skills for Tomorrow is a portfolio of programmes and initiatives. The portal has a wealth of support for families, parents and children, including educational interactive games and missions tailored for primary age kids.

Since the Covid-19 crisis began, BT has provided support for all its customers – from providing unlimited data for broadband customers and offering unlimited mobile data for any NHS staff on EE, through to supporting the homeless, and connecting the NHS Nightingale hospitals and providing hundreds of free digital skills and educational resources. The resources provide support in a wide range of areas – from home-schooling to business webinars and include help for people with low or no digital skills to ensure they can keep in touch with loved ones and access vital health services.

BT is funding the scheme to provide in-need families with six months’ access to BT’s Wi-fi estate, while distribution is being handled directly by the DfE which will issue families with the necessary voucher usernames and passwords. Local Authorities and Academy Trusts will be invited to request vouchers, working with their schools to identify those children who are most in need. For more information about this project or the pilot, please contact: COVID.TECHNOLOGY@education.gov.uk

Local Authorities and Academy Trusts will be invited to request vouchers, working with their schools to identify those children who are most in need. For more information about this project or the pilot, please contact: COVID.TECHNOLOGY@education.gov.uk