Twelve laptops have been donated to Birmingham Education Partnership by gbpFoundation. The IT equipment that was no longer used by gbpartnerships, will help children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds access valuable additional support and help tackle the invisible barrier to learning and attainment caused by tech poverty.
Left to right: Kym Haith, Birmingham Education Partnership, Wider Learning Project Worker / Rahai Khan, gbpartnerships Assistant Management Accountant / Ben Plews, gbpartnerships Estates Support and Quality Manager.
Birmingham Education Partnership, a Birmingham based charity, are working as part of the Digital Education Partnership to make e-learning available to all of the city’s children, now and in the future. The partnership will distribute the IT equipment to children and families across Birmingham City Centre and surrounding areas through local schools.
The Digital Education Partnership was initially bought together by BEP as a response to the impact of Covid-19 on the education and well-being of the children and young people in Birmingham. Manjit Shellis, Birmingham Education Partnership, Assistant Director Wider Learning commented:
“The Coronavirus crisis is causing unprecedented challenges for our schools and highlighting the invisible barrier to learning and attainment caused by digital poverty. We know that digital exclusion can further entrench existing disadvantage, and that vulnerable groups can benefit disproportionately from being online.
We want to help get as many children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Birmingham, online safely and securely and as quickly as possible. Donated devices are refurbished to give new life to old devices.”
Anyone that has devices to donate or funding they wish to contribute can contact the Partnership via their website: https://bep.education/wider-learning/resources/resources-help/