THOUSANDS of children across the North-East without devices or an internet connection have been left unable to complete schoolwork while home learning, but businesses across the region have rallied together to get children online. Scores of firms around the region have stepped up to provide vital resources for children struggling to access learning materials during lockdown. There have been widespread efforts to tackle the digital divide, including The Northern Echo joining forces with rival publishers across the North to launch the Cash for Connectivity appeal. The emergency fundraising drive aims to raise £1.2 million to help provide free internet to 100,000 disadvantaged households, with countless businesses having already donated devices.
Peter Gibson MP, Steven Hindmarch (Hellens Group), Natalie Palmer (Latimer Hinks), Matthew Wharton (Wharton Construction) and Kate Chisholm (Head teacher at Skerne Park Academy) A HOST of Darlington businesses have answered Peter Gibson s appeal to provide laptops for children at Skerne Park Academy. The Darlington MP made the appeal after learning that a number of pupils from the primary school on Coleridge Gardens did not have the devices as they need to enable remote learning during the third national coronavirus lockdown. Local and Darlington-based including Hellens Group, Latimer Hinks Solicitors, Recognition PR and Wharton Construction, have together pledged to source and donate 12 new devices to the school.
Map reveals many left offline amid digital divide - how your area compares AN interactive map has revealed how connected different parts of the North-East are as the country continues to battle the digital divide amid school closures. Internet connectivity has become a key talking point since the Prime Minister shut schools, forcing teachers to shift to home learning, in efforts to curb the spread of a new strain of Covid in the third national lockdown. The move thrust the digital divide into the limelight, with many disadvantaged children not having access to a device or the internet to complete schoolwork.
Adam Pevie of Bondgate IT refurbishes one of the computers due to be donated A NORTH-EAST technology firm is appealing to others to donate refurbished laptops to Tees Valley schools and support students struggling with home learning. Garry Brown, managing director of the Darlington firm Bongate IT, is a trustee of the Ad Astra Academy Trust and stresses the importance of education in unlocking skills and shaping successful futures. But according to analysis by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, based on data from Ofcom and the ONS, there are 55,000 families in the region without access to an internet device. Bondgate IT is refurbishing and donating its surplus laptops to primary school pupils as well as refurbishing devices donated by others.