AROUND 500 children in Wokingham may be missing out on education during lockdown because they do not have a laptop.

Anyone with a spare is being urged to contact Wokingham Borough Council, which is working to ensure every child can take part in remote learning while schools are closed.

During the first national lockdown, the government provided the council with 700 laptops as part of the Get Help with Technology Programme.

“Most of these have now been delivered but there is an estimated shortfall of about 500,” said Cllr UllaKarin Clark, executive member for children’s services.

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“But on January 12 the government announced that nationwide a further 300,000 laptops are going to be distributed, so we hope to fill this gap.

“We are also working with the voluntary and community sector to get recycled IT equipment.

“But we are relying on the schools to tell us when somebody needs these.”

She added: “If somebody has any laptops at home they are not using, it would be very useful if they could contact us and we could help to distribute those to the schools.”

The Conservative-run council has provided children and care leavers in Wokingham with more than 280 laptops during the pandemic.

It has also been working with the Department of Education to help them access 4G and obtain Wi-Fi routers.

The government says it is investing over £400 million in supporting disadvantaged children who need help accessing technology during the pandemic.

It has promised to deliver 1.3 million laptops and tablets, as part of the Get Help with Technology Programme.

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Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government “hopes it will be safe” to reopen schools on March 8.

“It will not be possible to open schools immediately after the February half term and I know how frustrating that will be for pupils and teachers, who want nothing more than to get back to the classroom,” he said.

To find out how to donate a laptop, contact Wokingham Borough Council.