About Us
Core Principles
Since 2001, the e-Learning Foundation has helped over 400 schools in the UK give over 100,000 of their most deprived students and families home access to IT. And many more schools are in the process of developing their own programmes.
Three core principles apply if a school wishes to benefit from affiliation to the e-Learning Foundation network.
1. Equity of access
A school that provides equity of access is one where every child in a given group has exactly the same opportunity to have access to the school’s technology, at home as well as in the classroom, regardless of whether, or how much, their parents have contributed to the school e-learning scheme. (Parents can, of course, always choose to opt out).
Where a school operates a 1:1 ratio then every child will be provided with their own device (laptop, PDA, etc) regardless of parental contribution.
Where a school operates their e-learning programme through a pool of shared computers, then every child will receive the same level of access, including the same rights to take a computer home at night.
2. Sustainabilty
Sustainabilty is at the heart of the e-Learning Foundation model. The education world is littered with examples of one-off funding for projects that grind to a halt three years on when the equipment needs replacing. However, it is not possible for the e-Learning Foundation to fund the thousands of schools that wish to support out of school learning through technology so local sustainabilty is vital. Parents make small (£2 to £5 a week) donations, normally collected monthly, to the school e-learning programme ensuring that the school can replace equipment when it needs replacing, and can also expand its e-learning activity to include more and more pupils at the school.
3. Home use
The focus of the e-Learning Foundation is helping schools extend access to ICT beyond the school day and the school gate, and in particular ensuring home access is universally available. While schools increasingly provide good access to ICT during the day, they rarely allow pupils to take school laptops home in the evenings or at the weekend. Research confirms that high levels of home access to a computer makes a significant impact on the learning outcomes of schoolchildren, an impact that children from better off families inevitably benefit from in contrast to children from more disadvantaged families.
Schools have a key role to play in developing effective home-school links so that students can continue to benefit from school based support and resources when working at home. The e-Learning Foundation supports schools that accept this role and are willing to engage with their families to achieve equity of access at home as well as at school.