On Friday 17th April, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Member of Parliament for Streatham, delivered the first round of donated laptops and tablets from her technology donation drive to Jubilee Primary School. After being wiped clean, these devices will go to school pupils so that they can keep up their education remotely while social distancing measures are in place.
Commenting on the initiative, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP said:
“I’d like to say another huge thank you to everyone who donated. It’s been great that members of the community have been able to come out and help others during this tough time.
“Schools in Streatham saw average funding reductions of £688 per pupil between 2010 and 2019 and with coronavirus putting a further pinch on family finances, many families in Streatham simply cannot afford the devices their children need to earn for themselves.
“If we don’t get learning resources to pupils and families, there’s a very strong risk that school closures will end up deepening existing inequality. After the coronavirus crisis is over, we really need to increase school funding so that they’re equipped to offer support to all their students.”
Notes
- Photos attached.
- School funding statistics: ‘Unions publish school funding constituency league table to sway voters’, Schools Week (09 November 2019) https://schoolsweek.co.uk/union-publishes-constituencies-league-table-for-school-funding-to-sway-voters/
- Video of Bell delivering the laptops: https://youtu.be/Zp9Z7eaEcYI
- More background on the initiative at Bell’s website https://bellribeiroaddy.com/coronavirus-laptop-donation-drive/
- With the lockdown likely to continue for some time, Bell will be continuing to advertise for donations in the coming weeks. If people would like to donate something to her scheme, they can write to her via email to arrange for drop-off/collection: bell.ribeiroaddy.mp@parliament.uk.
For further information about this press release, please contact Ollie Collard, Communications Officer, Office of Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP at oliver.collard@parliament.ukor on 07918110617.