Schools group gives free iPads to 30,000 disadvantaged students and their teachers

A British schools group with a focus on disadvantaged children is giving free iPads to every pupil as part of a program designed to remove barriers to learning at home.

The program is being rolled out by Oasis, a group which runs 52 schools in the UK …

The scheme is called Oasis Horizons.

Oasis Community Learning is ready to deliver over 30,000 iPads to primary, secondary, sixth form students, and staff over the next 12 months. The venture, part of Oasis’s fundamental offer to students and their families, is designed to address inequalities that exist outside of school by making online learning accessible to all […]

Oasis Horizons will be rolled out to all 52 Oasis Academies over the next academic year enabling students to conduct their own research delving deeper into their subject and enabling them to follow their own lines of inquiry, starting with two academies situated in Birmingham and Grimsby this month.

The devices will support every student on their learning journey regardless of their starting points, removing many of the barriers some young people face in accessing learning resources outside of school.

The coronavirus crisis has further deepened the impact of inequalities between those children whose parents can afford to buy them technology like laptops and iPads for the school work they do at home, and those who have no access to what are now essential educational tools. Free iPads will ensure that every student has a device to work on both in classes and at home.

With almost a third of Oasis students from a home where English is not the first language, translation tools will be particularly helpful in enabling parents to engage in educational projects with their children.

Students will also be taught how to get the most out of the iPad, and how to take care of it, while teachers will benefit from assistance with lesson planning and marking.

John Murphy, CEO of Oasis Community Learning, proudly launched Oasis Horizons saying; “We want to take a step forward in our offer to our young people to ensure we address inequality that exists outside of the classroom, and so that everyone has the opportunities that they are entitled to.”

“Oasis Horizons will provide every student access to online learning wherever they are, it will enable their families to support them with their learning. Familiarity with devices such as this will also prepare them for their next steps, be that further education or a fulfilling and aspirational career.”

In the US, the iPad has revolutionized learning for many students – even if not every program has worked out.