A Pudsey company has joined with an inner city school and Google Education to supply 450 pupils with Google Chromebooks.
Little London Community Primary School has taken the bold step of ensuring these children will have their own Google Chromebook and internet access so they are covered for every eventuality.
The scheme is the brainchild of Jill Wood, head teacher at Little London Community Primary School, who recognised that a ground-breaking solution was needed post-lockdown.
Little London is an inner-city school of 630 children, where the proportion of disadvantaged pupils is much higher than the national average. Pupils have extremely limited access to technology and the internet outside school.
A quarter of families have either no internet access, or limited access through a mobile phone, making home learning impossible.
Jill enrolled the help of IT provider, Pudsey-based Next Generation IT along with Google Education to provide a ground-breaking solution.
Next Generation IT will begin the Google Chromebook rollout for pupils this month. Secure filtered Internet access will be provided to the 150 families currently without. Each family will receive a 4G router with pre-loaded data which will only work with the managed Chromebook supplied. Jill said:
“We knew we had to deliver a bold solution to ensure that all pupils have access to learning. The return of pupils in September was never going to be straightforward however we have prepared for every eventuality by providing technology that will help all pupils reach their potential.
“We needed to make sure children had their own device that was safe and used purely for education and Steven from Next Generation IT has come up with the perfect solution. The Chromebooks can be used at home and at school and we see them as an essential tool for learning.”
The school has worked with Next Generation IT for over 15 years and has recently opted for Google Classrooms to be setup through DfE grant funding.
Steven Lightfoot, director of Next Generation IT, said:
“Jill Wood is a true visionary and it has been amazing to work with her on this project. Getting the right support for the children drives Jill every day and we were delighted to partner with Google Education to provide a solution that is truly life-changing for the children.
“We will be supporting the school and families during the rollout and look forward to continuing to work with them closely. It’s great to know that whatever happens with schools as they return to their ‘new normal’, the children of Little London Primary School will be equipped to learn whenever and wherever they need to.”
Next Generation IT is the education support department of Pudsey Computers. The company started 30 years ago and is currently supporting or supplying around 70 schools across Leeds Bradford and Kirklees.