Free Vodafone SIM cards keep students connected
FOR teachers at Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow applying for free Vodafone sims was a ‘no brainer’.
The school, in the city’s southside, received its bundle of 80 sim cards just seven days after applying online.
Headteacher Sharon Watson said a number of students have struggled to get online to access remote learning because of inadequate internet access as a result of overloaded internet lines.
She said: ‘A lot of the time connectivity is the problem. The children have laptops and iPads but we were finding that families, even if they had wifi, were struggling to get online because internet cables to their home were overloaded with everyone working and studying from home.
‘With one pupil is was simply the case that they had moved homes and the wifi wasn’t working yet so we were able to help the family until it was up and running again.
‘The reaction has been very positive and parents have been very grateful that we can offer them these sim cards as well as free dongles that have been given to us by the council.’
Mrs Watson said that it was ‘very easy’ to apply online for the extra 80 sim cards which were delivered a short time later.
The school has already benefited from free iPad and Chromebook deliveries provided by Glasgow City Council. Mrs Watson added: ‘Getting the free Vodafone sim cards was incredibly easy. I went online, filled out a form which took about 60 seconds and the sim cards arrived about seven days later.’
She encouraged other headteachers to apply through the Mail Force charity backed scheme.
She said: ‘It’s a no brainer. Working from home while children are home learning must be incredibly difficult for families. This is another added extra that we can use to help support our students and their parents during this challenging time.’