Financial sustainabilty

There is no doubt that making the e-Learning Foundation model work in a school that serves an extremely disadvantaged community has been tougher than those where local salaries are higher and good education is highly valued.

There are no magic solutions, but there are some practical ideas that schools in such circumstances, but determined to overcome the digital divide, have found work. They fall into four major categories; the price of the device, parental involvement, other sources of financial support, and connectivity at home.

1. The device
Computer choice has increased and costs have plummeted in recent years so many programmes that provide a computer to every child and support with the Internet where needed can be run for donations of around £12 a month over 2 years. The exact amount will depend not just on the purchase cost but also those vital extras (insurance, warranty, software).

2. Parental involvement
Where a parent can only make modest donations then you need to maximise the value of that, and minimise the administration cost. Direct debits are the cheapest way to collect a regular donation, but each bank transaction costs money so try and encourage parents to pay as infrequently as possible; quarterly, or even annually if possible.

Try and explain the extra value you have built into the e-learning package to parents so that they can put the donation amount you are suggesting into context.

3. Other sources of financial support
In addition to applying to the e-Learning Foundation for a small grant, schools are encouraged to use some of their Pupil Premium funding (£430 per pupil on FSM this year) towards their programme.

4. Connectivity at home
While Broadband access is high amongst families with children, about a third of those in the lowest income groups are still unlikely to be able to go online at home.  Solutions include providing the pupil with a mobile dongle (pre-paid) or encouraging the families to take advantage of their cable or satellite TV services which often offer Internet access at very competitive rates.