AN appeal to find laptops for pupils in Falmouth who don't have them to study online at home has been launched by a concerned town councillor.

Falmouth town councillor Jayne Kirkham says she has been in contact with a number of Falmouth schools and some report that their students do not all have the equipment to be able to study online from home.

The Labour councillor says the government scheme to provide computer equipment for children studying at home has not kept pace with demand and has put a call out on Facebook asking if any local residents have laptops that they can donate as our local schools need them.

She says the more children who can study at home the better, considering the higher infection rates in Cornwall at the moment.

"There are national schemes to provide laptops but if I can collect them locally and deliver them direct to the school then laptops and computers donated by Falmouth residents will go to Falmouth schools," she said. "In a house with three children they all need different computers to access different lessons as will their parents if they are working from home. Very few households have a computer for everyone.

"There is always the issue of security. They need to be cleaned and unlocked to be able to use and I am not techy enough to be able to do that, so if people are able to do that before they give it to us, that would be great."

People can use Jayne's council email jayne.kirkham@cornwallcouncillors.org.uk to contact her, and she can collect and deliver.

The Covid pandemic has forced the closure of schools, with lessons being moved online and being carried out on Zoom. However there are concerns that children who don't have access to laptops are missing out on important learning.

Child Poverty Action Group found in the first UK lockdown in March 2020 up to 40% of families did not only not have access to a laptop or the internet, but also to other things like printers, stationery and craft materials

Last week the government announced that a further 300,000 laptops and tablets were being sent out to help disadvantaged children and young people learn at home.

Part of the Get Help with Technology Programme, the 300,000 boost takes the total number of laptops and tablets for disadvantaged young people up to 1.3 million.

Data published by the Department for Education shows that over 700,000 laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools to date. Over 100,000 were delivered last week alone and by the end of the week three quarters of a million will have been delivered to schools and local authorities. The vast majority of secondary schools have already received devices and we are delivering more this week. Schools that are yet to order devices can still do so.

The additional 300,000 devices lifts government investment by another £100 million, meaning over £400 million will have been invested in supporting disadvantaged children and young people who need the most help with access to technology through the pandemic.

The additional devices will support schools and colleges across England, with top-ups to their original allocation, offering further support to disadvantaged children. Device allocations have been made with the aim of prioritising those most in need. Schools being able to order even more devices, should they require them, will allow for more devices for these children if needed.