Cllr Anton Georgiou, Liberal Democrat councillor for Alperton ward, is leading a campaign to persuade the Department for Education to equip refugee and ESOL students with IT equipment for home learning during the current coronavirus shut down.
In a letter to Secretary of State, Gavin Williamson, Georgiou and his fellow signatories state:
We welcome the initiative that has been taken by central Government to supply the most vulnerable students with computer equipment to facilitate home learning in the coming weeks. However, we would like to see this extended to other vulnerable groups too.Although a Liberal Democrat initiative I am sure many Wembley Matters readers, irrespective of party, will support this call.
For example, we are concerned that young refugee and ESL students are being allowed to slip through the net. We are seeing in our communities, and also through anecdotal evidence provided by organisations like Young Roots and Refugee Support Network, that this group of young people are not being provided with the support they need at this time. Although their need for computer equipment is great and they have a social worker, they do not meet the specific criteria set by central Government.
There are also young people, refugees and asylum seekers aged 19 to 25 who are in further and higher education, but do not have access to computer equipment to enable them to engage in online learning, because they are currently not eligible. It is critical that those who need help get it. We need to ensure that students who already face acute challenges in performing at the same level as some of their peers do not fall further behind, thus widening the attainment gap in our schools, colleges and universities.
We are calling on the Government to make a concerted effort over the coming weeks to ensure that this much- needed computer equipment reaches these vulnerable groups who are currently not eligible.
The letter can be read in full HERE