The Hg Foundation, a grant-giving charity with a defined focus on education and technology, has announced today that since the start of this school year in September 2020, it has sent nearly 200 recycled and reconditioned laptops to disadvantaged pupils through educational outreach charities The Tutor Trust and The Access Project.

Currently 1.8 million children[1] in the UK do not have access to a laptop, desktop or tablet, denying them the opportunity to continue their learning at home during lockdown. Evidence[2] shows that this is contributing to a growing attainment gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their better off peers.

In 2020 The Hg Foundation was proud to support the National Pilot of Online Tutoring. Four leading tutoring organisations including The Tutor Trust and The Access Project were involved with this pilot which was set up by the Education Endowment Foundation, Impetus, The Sutton Trust and NESTA.  The scheme was supported by the Department for Education and it informed the launch of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP).  The £350m NTP initiative has now been rolled out across England and will provide support to pupils who have missed out on learning because of COVID-19 disruption.

The Hg Foundation has made its latest donation of equipment as part of its support of a new project with The Tutor Trust which evaluates the efficacy of a hybrid model that blends in-person and online tutoring. These reconditioned laptops will mean pupils now have sufficient equipment to continue their studies at home during school closures.

Richard Donner, Trustee of The Hg Foundation, said: “It’s been great to kick off our partnership with The Tutor Trust by delivering the hardware needed to enable online tutoring. National lockdowns have become a major challenge for many students to keep up with school and a key issue is a lack of technology.  We thank all of those, including the Hg portfolio partners, who have contributed to this effort. This is just the beginning of what we want to achieve on this programme.”

One participant in the programme is Waterloo Primary School in Liverpool (see full testimonial here).

Ruth Baldwin, Headteacher at Waterloo Primary School in Liverpool, commented: “We have recently started The Hg Foundation Hybrid Tutoring Project in school and remotely for twelve Year 6 pupils.  It has been such a timely project for our children – particularly with the generous donation of laptops and headsets.  This has supported not only the project, but our Year 6 pupils working remotely as their ‘bubble’ has been suspended three times already due to positive COVID results.

“The nine laptops, provided by The Hg Foundation, supported our school to provide 28 pupils in Year 6 with devices in order to access their learning from home. Initial feedback from pupils is extremely positive.  Ten of the twelve children accessing the tutoring programme are eligible for Free School Meals and probably would not have access to this type of after school provision. Thanks for your support.”

The Hg Foundation launched in 2020 with a goal to make an impact on the development of skills most required for employment within the technology industry, focusing on individuals who may otherwise experience barriers to access this education.  The Foundation aims to achieve this by providing funding and operational support to charitable schemes across the UK, US and Europe where measurable, long-term and scalable impact can be demonstrated to make a difference to those that need it most.

Hg, Europe’s leading software and services investor, supports the Foundation, enabling access to a network of skills and expertise in technology, as well as a portfolio of technology companies, providing access to work experience and mentoring.

[1] Ofcom and Teach First – as cited in The Guardian: “Pupils without laptops can still go to school in England”:  https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/05/call-for-pupils-without-laptops-in-england-to-be-allowed-into-schools-covid

[2] Education Endowment Foundation: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/best-evidence-on-impact-of-school-closures-on-the-attainment-gap/