Three schools in the Falkirk area are set to receive new laptops thanks to a new Asda scheme taking on digital exclusion.
Workers from the Asda supermarkets in Falkirk and Grangemouth - and the area’s distribution centre - were each given ten laptop bundles to donate to a local school.
Beancross, Victoria and Langlees primary schools are all set to benefit from the computers, and the schools will manage distribution of the laptops to those pupils most in need.
Technology
Asda has invested £2m into the scheme, run in partnership with tech giant Dell and supported by the Asda Foundation. Essentially it allows every Asda store and distribution centre in the UK to donate to a school in their local community.
7,000 laptops are being provided across the UK thanks to the scheme
Each laptop comes with an accompanying ‘tech bundle’ that includes a headset and mobile internet dongle with 20 gigabytes of data allowance.
The Dell laptops were selected thanks to their 'best-in-class' durability, according to Asda, making them ideal for young learners.
‘Lovely surprise’
Mr Brian McLaren, Head Teacher of Langlees Primary School said:
“The donation of laptops was a lovely surprise and our thanks go to Asda staff in the Falkirk area for choosing our school.
“The laptops will go a long way in helping our children enhance their digital and remote learning experience.”
Digital exclusion
Roger Burnley, CEO and President of Asda, said:
“It’s clear that digital exclusion is an issue affecting many thousands of children who attend schools in communities that we serve. These children have been disproportionately affected by the lockdown and are at risk of falling further behind their peers.
“We want to do all we can to help break down the digital barriers so they can continue their education remotely.”
Digital exclusion affects almost 9% of children in the United Kingdom according to Ofcom, with up to 1.8 million kids lacking access to a laptop, desktop or tablet at home.
Falkirk Council’s Connected Falkirk project is providing iPads for all teachers and pupils P6 to S6 in the area, to help tackle digital exclusion as well as promoting digital learning and skills development.