STREATHAM MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy has launched a new initiative to help children who are struggling to remote learning during the government’s coronavirus lockdown.

With schools closing down across the constituency,  Addy said she wanted children from poorer backgrounds and underfunded schools to have access to items such as laptops and iPads so that their education would not suffer because they cannot go to school. 

‘Donations make a difference’

She said: “I’m calling on local businesses and residents with any spare laptops, iPads, and tablets, to donate these to someone who really needs it.

“As we’ve seen again and again, it’s those with the least who are feeling the effects of this crisis the most and your donations could make a small difference by helping a local child keep up with their work. 

Addy says she became aware that lack of access to technology was a problem for children when she was contacted by a local school.

“I’ve been contacted by one school in particular that’s raised this problem, pointing out that many of their pupils don’t have the necessary hardware to access their remote learning systems” she said.

“According to campaign group Stop School Cuts, schools in Streatham saw average funding reductions of £688 per pupil between 2010 and 2019. After ten years of constant cuts, it’s not surprising many schools don’t have the means to meet their children’s educational needs.”

Big impact

Since being elected as the Member of Parliament  for Streatham in the December 2019 general election Addy has made a big impact in a relatively short space of time, gaining a reputation as a community focused MPs who cares passionately about people in the constituency she grew up in as well as being a strong ally of equality and social justice campaigners across the country. 

Now the shadow immigration minister is turning her attention to the impact that coronavirus is having on families and individuals in her constituency who are at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale.  

Rising household poverty

“As coronavirus constrains household finances, this is compounded by the rising household poverty in our area too. Data from End Child Poverty shows after taking housing costs into account, 39% of children in Streatham live in poverty, meaning households can’t afford to buy the technology themselves at the best of times. 

“Children without access to remote learning technology are another group who are really falling through the gaps in our social safety net.”