How to apply for a free laptop or tablet for your child to use while homeschooling

More than one million children are without access to an electronic device, and a government scheme has been launched to distribute laptops and tablets to children.

Schools are set to be closed until at least March meaning the majority of children in the UK are now learning from home. 

Throughout the pandemic, schools have remained opened for children of key workers and vulnerable kids, for other children lessons switched to online. 

To ensure every kid has access to their online classes, the government are aiming to offer 1.3 million laptops and tablets to children who need it. 

The project is a part of the ‘get help with technology’ scheme, first announced by the Department of Education back in April 2020. 

So far the government has reportedly released 876,013 devices to those families who need it and meet the required criteria.

To be eligible your child will need to fall into one of the following groups:

• Disadvantaged children aged three to 11 without access to a device and whose face-to-face education is disrupted
• Disadvantaged children in any year group but either they or someone they live with has to shield as they are clinically extremely vulnerable
• Disadvantaged children in any year group attending hospital school 

Examples might also include where a child’s only available device is a smart phone, or when they are sharing one device in their household with more than one other family member.

Laptops and tablets are reportedly set to be available to kids ages 16 to 19 in the spring term of this year. 

To apply, you’ll need to contact your child’s school who already know how many devices they need.

The devices will be ‘on loan’ to families and you will need to return them to your child’s school or your council. Speak to your school for more information on this. 

For other help, low income families can access a free 4G router, free WiFi vouchers from BT, free 4G data boost from the likes of EE, O2 and Vodafone, free learning resources from Virgin Media and free school meals.  

Find out more here.