LANCASHIRE County Council has successfully put together a scheme worth nearly £1m to ensure that children without home access to IT don't miss out. The "Home Access" scheme has successfully brought in £770,000 from central government, backed by a further £180,000 from Lancashire County Council funds.
(Media-Newswire.com) - LANCASHIRE County Council has successfully put together a scheme worth nearly £1m to ensure that children without home access to IT don’t miss out.
The “Home Access” scheme has successfully brought in £770,000 from central government, backed by a further £180,000 from Lancashire County Council funds.
The scheme specifically targets those children for whom the county council has responsibility, such as looked-after children who may be in foster care or residential homes, children unable to go to school because of illness or other problems, and children felt to be at risk.
Under the scheme, all 717 eligible looked-after children will receive a ‘Home Access Unit’, comprising a mid-range laptop computer, including relevant programmes, technical support and a year’s filtered internet access.
Lancashire’s Learners Out of School Service will receive 70 “Home Access Units” to create a bank of computer facilities for use by the children and young people with whom they work, who may be unable to go to school for a variety of reasons.
Similarly, the Early Years Service will be able to create a bank of 100 “Home Access Units” for use by its clients.
County Councillor Vali Patel, cabinet member for schools, said: “This scheme is very good news and will help to ensure that those vulnerable young people for whom we are responsible are not disadvantaged. Access to ICT is now an integral part of the learning experience. The Home Access scheme will both benefit their education and help them to develop the IT skills that are so important in the modern world.”
The Home Access scheme was put together by the following Lancashire County Council services, working together: Westfield Centre, which provides a range of ICT services for schools across the North West; Schools’ ICT Group; Looked After Children; Learners Out of School; Early Years Families at Risk.
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