Learning to learn online Learning online
National Literacy Trust
Whilst periods of lockdown and local restriction tiers are something we have all become accustomed to for almost a year, the closure of our school gates has been one of the most painful consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic , particularly for those students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Clearly, it is right to close our schools in order to protect the NHS and reduce the spread of the virus, however it leaves some children and families in a difficult position to home-educate, with schools again switching to online learning.
During the first lockdown, the National Literacy Trust were able to support over 300,000 children and young people with printed writing materials and books and over 500,000 with access to high quality digital literacy resources. Here at Provident, we were able to print and deliver resource packs to local foodbanks who then provided copies to digitally excluded families .
The education partners we support have worked hard during these difficult times to ensure disadvantaged students and vulnerable families get the help they need.
By Cathy Prior Social Impact Programme Manager Provident Financial
This need has continued with each lockdown. We know that 1 in 11 children won’t have a book at home. Many families still can’t access online learning; 30% of low income households have bad or no broadband connection. Alongside this, it’s now well understood that lockdown impacts negatively on wellbeing, with the third lockdown expected to be particularly hard.
To support literacy and wellbeing in disadvantaged communities during this lockdown, the charity continues to focus on three key areas: 1
Delivering high quality programme content for teachers through literacytrust.org.uk
2 Providing reading resources and activities for parents through wordsforlife.org.uk. 3 Giving digitally excluded children and young people printed resources to support their learning, distributed through their Hubs (including Bradford) and partnerships. Once again, we’ll be helping with the printing of packs to reach as many local Bradford families as possible. In addition, we’re working with the charity to find ways to support young people virtually through the Words for Work programme which provides them with the communication skills they’ll need for the workplace.
