Appeal for Bondholders to donate laptops to Derby school

A Derby school is appealing to Marketing Derby Bondholders to donate unwanted laptops to help pupils access their education online during lockdown.

Like many schools across the country, City of Derby Academy, in Sinfin, has a shortfall in numbers of IT equipment for pupils.

The school’s headteacher, Phil Smith, is now appealing to the business community to donate any old or unwanted technology, to help those struggling to access laptops for their lessons.

He said: “We have a shortfall in the number of laptops we can provide and the number of pupils who would benefit from IT to support their lessons.

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“We have families who are digitally vulnerable, so a lot of work is going on to get those students accessing our curriculum.

“The school is in good spirits despite the circumstances, and our fantastic team is supporting pupils with paperwork packs and equipment.

“However, remote learning involves teachers being accessible online and delivering learning interactions in every lesson.

“Through laptops and computers, pupils can keep connected with the school and this learning experience, at a time where interaction is more important than ever.

“We are trying to ensure that no-one misses out in these difficult times, and we hope our local business community might be able to help us to address the gap with any old or wanted devices, to help pupils’ education in the lockdown.”

It is estimated that up to 1.8 million children in the UK have no home access to a laptop, desktop or tablet.

Students who cannot access online resources have been told they can still go to school. But teachers fear this could lead to schools being overwhelmed.

Ideally, schools need laptops, with chargers and ideally should be wiped clear beforehand, so personal files are not included.

Anyone able to offer help can e-mail Mr Smith at psmith@cityofderbyacademy.org.