Belinda’s story: financial support for a laptop during lockdown

I have been working in a secondary school supporting pupils with SEN for the last two years and I love my job. Prior this I was a primary TA.

Most of my time is spent supporting a student who has autism in all her lessons and I’ve helped her into a routine that she is comfortable with.

I take great pride in having helped my student to such an extent that she comes into school every day. She was reluctant to come to school at the start of the year, but her confidence has really grown and she has now settled into a routine that works well.

Following school closures in March, I volunteered to go into school on a rota basis but I am now working from home.

It’s been difficult. My daughter and I were trying to access our work sharing my phone but it wasn’t easy. We could sometimes borrow my Mum’s laptop and she would leave it on the doorstep but she doesn’t live that nearby and it involved a car journey for her which wasn’t very practical during lock-down.

Once libraries shut I was really stuck. A laptop was too expensive. Previously we were always able to go there to use one.

Education Support helped me and my daughter with a grant towards the cost of a laptop.

*not her real name