Home Access is the government programme that will help to ensure that more children in state-maintained education in England have access to technology at home to support learning.
During the planning for national rollout of the programme it was recognised that Looked After Children represented some of the most vulnerable children in our society and Becta committed to running a parallel scheme focusing particularly on Looked After Children provision.
National rollout of the programme
As children within other previously targeted groups are now supported by the main Home Access programme a revised process has been developed by Becta, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and several Looked After Children Education Services (LACES) teams across the country.
For national rollout of the Home Access programme a Looked After Child’s designated care worker will be able to fill out an application form on the learner’s behalf All children and young people in foster care and in full-time education in England (Key Stages 1-5/years 1 to 13 inclusive) will qualify, unless they have already been provided with a similar service or already have appropriate provision. Looked After Children living in local authority maintained accommodation are ineligible for the programme as facilities should already be in place for this group.
The application process
The application form for Looked After Children needs to be completed by the designated care worker and countersigned by the foster carer or the learner themselves if they are over 16 and deemed responsible. It should then be submitted for processing.
If the learner is eligible and under 16, a Home Access Grant will be issued to the foster carer, who can then buy a computer and internet package from an approved supplier as per the main model. If the young person in care is over 16 and is deemed responsible by their designated care worker, grants can be provided to them directly.
Further information
Detailed guidance about Looked After Children within the Home Access programme has been sent to all local authorities. In order to learn whether a Looked After Child can benefit from the Home Access programme contact should be made in the first instance with the learner’s designated care worker or LACES representative within the local authority to assess the learner’s appropriateness for inclusion in the programme.
Detailed guidance and the Looked After Children application form are only available for local authorities from Downloads section.