Herefordshire Council funding provides vulnerable children with access to online education

Up to 1,500 Herefordshire pupils will be able to join their classmates and access their school lessons online with better connectivity and IT devices due to £650k of funding from Herefordshire Council.

The coronavirus pandemic has meant that a large number of pupils have had to spend significant periods of time learning from home.  This has proved extremely difficult for some students where a laptop, desktop computer or tablet hasn’t been readily available or their home Wi-Fi connection is poor.

The council’s funding will mean that many of Herefordshire schools will be able to reclaim the cost of digital devices and 4G routers purchased to help vulnerable families.  This will result in improved digital connectivity for many disadvantaged children and young people, enabling them to join their peers in accessing their lessons effectively from home, rather than attending school.

This latest announcement follows the recent news that the council will continue to fund free school meals for over 3,200 primary and secondary pupils throughout the February and Easter school holidays through their schools.

Councillor Felicity Norman, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said: “We are delighted to announce that we have made £650k available from our emergency COVID-19 funding scheme to provide schools with the equipment they need to enable their pupils to be able to access their lessons from home more successfully.  It is incredibly important that all children and young people are provided with an equal opportunity to continue their education whether it is face-to-face or online.

“We expect that remote learning will be a feature of education for the remainder of this academic year in some form, so we are taking this action to support pupils who continue to struggle to access their education online.  The additional digital equipment will also give children and young people the opportunity to reconnect with their classmates and teachers, whilst freeing up school places for other pupils who need to be in school.”