Volunteers in Southsea, Fareham and Gosport work hard to collect vital IT equipment and laptops for homeschooled children

Groups and firms are working around the clock to collect, reset and distribute IT equipment including laptops and tablets to schools in need.

With the majority of schoolchildren in the country being taught at home during lockdown, charities and schools are concerned about access to vital technology.

Southsea resident Kate Corps is leading a drive to gather tech for Cumberland Infant School, where her two children are pupils.

With help from her boss Liam Crayden, Kate has collected and fixed up around 25 tablets and laptops after seeing the panic on social media following the third lockdown announcement.

Kate, who has also offered to fix devices which parents at the school already have, said: ‘My heart went out to them because I know how hard homeschooling is from the last lockdown and I couldn’t imagine trying to do it without helpful website resources to use.

‘It’s important to me because every child deserves the same education, no child should fall behind because their parents couldn’t afford a laptop or tablet.

‘The guilt you feel as a parent when you can’t afford something your child wants or needs is an awful feeling, laptops are considered a luxury by many families and not everyone can afford one.’

Kate and Liam run a Facebook group called Keep Southsea Connected, all updates on how things are going can be found on there as well as information on how to donate.

Across Fareham and Gosport, more than 100 items have been donated to an appeal set up by Acts of Kindness which has helped around seven schools so far.

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Charity founder Kerry Snuggs, who has been helped by Fareham-based Loxton IT Solutions to wipe devices, said: ‘We have been inundated, we have had over 100 donated. It’s fantastic and schools are really appreciative.

‘To have the community behind people and showing they don’t have to do it on their own is a very important message.

‘Just because they’re struggling with financial difficulty, the access to learning is still there.’

There are 30 collection points which have been set up to make it easier for people to donate.

For more information, call or text 07726 577761 or visit the Acts of Kindness Community (Solent) Facebook page.

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Inclusive city-based organisation Victory Hants has also launched a campaign to help, looking for donations of pre-loved laptops as well as food items and learning resources such as pens and paper.

Tina Jacobs, chief executive, said: ‘Throughout the pandemic, the digital divide between young people in the most disadvantaged area of our city has become more apparent.

‘There is currently a vital need to address this inequality which has a huge impact on our children's education and social isolation.’

Donations to help support this project can be made at PayPal.me/victoryhants or for more information visit their Facebook page.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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