£1million gift to help kids learn
We launch fund for lockdown pupils with huge donation from teacher union
THE Mirror today launches a campaign to help kids lacking basic home-schooling tools, with a £1million donation from a major union.
It comes as a survey found many poorer primary pupils do not even have pens, paper or crayons.
Donor the National Education Union said: “Teachers tell us their poorest children’s learning is hampered as they do not have basic essentials.”
I think this campaign is awesome. I hope the country supports it
ZANE POWLES TEACHER WHO DELIVERS EQUIPMENT
WITH a shocking number of pupils lacking even the basic tools for home-learning in lockdown there are fears their education could be severely damaged.
Teachers have told how many from poor backgrounds are using toilet paper and flyers to write on while others do not have pens or crayons.
And as concerns grow they could fall further and further behind betteroff pupils, the Mirror today launches a campaign to help kids get the equipment they need to keep up – kicked off with a £1million donation from the National Education Union.
All the cash raised will go towards stationery and essential equipment for children still too young for online learning.
And we are calling on our generous readers and firms to give poor kids a boost by donating to our Help a Child to Learn appeal. NEU joint general secretaries Kevin Courtney and Dr Mary Bousted said: “Teachers and school leaders tell us their poorest and most disadvantaged children’s learning is hampered as they do not have the basic essentials at homes. “Pupils cannot learn if they do not have paper to write on and pens to write with. They cannot engage in creative learning if they lack crayons and glue. Cardboard and toilet paper are not substitutes for exercise books. “Our Help a Child to Learn campaign is driven by the level of need NEU members see in their pupils. The sheer scale of child poverty and its effects on children’s learning is heartbreaking. It should not be necessary, in 2021 to supply pupils with the very basics they need to participate in remote learning, but it is necessary and this campaign will rise to the challenge. “With public help, and in addition to the £1million contribution from the NEU, we will grow this fund to support more schools and even more pupils.”
The union’s unprecedented donation and cash from the campaign will be targeted at schools in England with the highest proportion of children claiming free meals.
With pupils not now expected back in class before Easter, it is vital youngsters are given all the help they need to maintain educational standards. An exclusive survey of more than 2,500 NEU members found 95% were teaching students with limited or no access to learning resources at home.
And 81% said families are asking for extra support from their school or college for resources such as pens, paper and books.
The survey found 48% of teachers had bought pens and pencils for their pupils, 25% glue sticks and 32% paper.
Some pupils are ashamed to admit they don’t have the right equipment, damaging their confidence and often leading to disruptive behaviour.
Hero head, Zane Powles, awarded an MBE for delivering at least 7,500 school meals and equipment to kids in lockdown, backed our campaign.
The 48-year-old assistant head from Western Primary School in Grimsby, Lincs, said: “I think this campaign is awesome. Everyone should support it.
“Parents are really finding life tough. Kids can eat you out of house and home and parents can’t afford it. Some are furloughed and some have lost their jobs. Parents come to the doors crying. They are not in a great place. The campaign is good for younger children who need those fine motor skills that a laptop does not give them.
“People think poverty is in Africa but wherever you live it’s round the corner.
“We all have to do our bit.
Cardboard and toilet paper are not a substitute for books
DR MARY BOUSTED NEU JOINT GEN SECRETARY
I hope the whole country really gets behind this campaign.”
More than 4.2 million children were trapped in poverty in 2018/19, according to Government figures.
The situation is believed to have worsened during the pandemic. And 55% of NEU members reported an increase in child poverty at their school or college since the start of the first lockdown in March last year.
Our campaign also calls on the Government to tackle underlying causes of child poverty that hold back kids’ education. The shocking shortages of basic kit come on top of a widening digital divide, as poorer pupils struggle to access laptops and wifi. The Government pledged to send 1.3m laptops to needy children last year but only around 875,000 have been delivered.
It leaves kids struggling to learn while sharing a device with siblings and parents. Some have no access.
Only 5% of teachers in state schools said all their pupils had access to a laptop, compared to 54% in private schools, according to a report by the Sutton Trust. And just 5% of state pupils had adequate internet access at the start of the lockdown, compared to 51% of their privately educated peers. Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield has warned the differences could damage the life chances of some of the poorest children.
She said: “The gap between how well disadvantaged children and others do was growing, before the pandemic. With children out of school for nearly a year, that gap is likely to get even wider.
'Providing children with the tools they need to learn will make a huge difference, and I am very pleased to support the Mirror’s campaign.”
Schools will be able to apply for vouchers of £500, £1,000 and £1,500 depending on size, to buy gear.
Funds will be distributed by the firm Viking. Raffael Reinhold, chief executive of Office Depot Europe, said: “Viking is proud to work in partnership with NEU and support the campaign to provide the materials needed for teachers to continue to make a difference to the lives of their pupils.”
The Department for Education said: “We are determined to ensure children continue to receive a high quality education in this pandemic.”
Donate at helpachildtolearn.com.