Schools Invited To Follow The Trail To Aggregation At BETT 2010

The e-Learning Foundation, a charity dedicated to helping deprived children bridge the digital divide, is calling on schools who want to get involved in home access to affiliate to the organisation and follow the aggregation trail at BETT 2010.

The Government Home Access programme has been created to allow every eligible family to apply for a grant and purchase a computer and Internet access at their nearest approved supplier with a plastic pre-paid debit card.  Schools do not have to get involved in this process. However, many schools feel they have a role to play and are looking at ‘aggregation’.

Under the Aggregation process a school will offer to order the Home Access computer/internet bundles on behalf of their parents. In the majority of cases the school will also assist with making the application and discussing the best choice of device and connectivity.

Schools who are unaware of the aggregation model should consider getting involved for the following reasons:

• Schools are best placed to recognise the most need families in their community and help them successfully apply for their computer/internet bundle.
• A school’s involvement underlines the educational aspect to the scheme and reinforces the purpose behind the grant.
• Suppliers may be prepared to offer a better deal on a bulk order, providing extra computers for home access for other pupils in the school who may have just missed out on the scheme.
• Aggregation can avoid the stigma of Free School Meal pupils having different computers from those the school may be standardising on.
• The Home Access programme goes hand in hand with the e-Learning Foundation’s Equity Programme, which means schools would not be put in a position where they would have to ask the lowest income families for a contribution to a school e-Learning scheme’

To find out more about affiliation to the e-Learning Foundation and follow the ‘home access and aggregation’ trail, schools should visit stand M40 at BETT 2010, where they will be given a leaflet and map of stands at the event they should visit to make sure they get the most out of the aggregation opportunity.  The e-Learning Foundation’s Schools Liaison Managers (SLMs) will be on hand to answer any questions schools may have on home access and aggregation throughout the show.

About the e-Learning Foundation:

The e-Learning Foundation was launched in 2001, to ensure that every schoolchild in the UK should have access to learning technologies when and where they want to learn, and especially at home.

The Foundation, a registered charity, aims to bridge the digital divide and ensure that all children, irrespective of their background, can have the same access to technology for learning as their better off peers.

The Foundation is funded through the public, private and third sector in the form of Government grants, commercial sponsorship, grants and donations.

www.e-learningfoundation.com

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