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Walsall's New Deal is providing 470 laptop computers to schools that serve the students of the areas of Blakenall, Bloxwich and Leamore. The computers, costing over half a million pounds, are also being made available for community users, particularly within the New Deal headquarters, the Blakenall Village Centre. This project is in response to findings in the 2002 and 2004 MORI surveys on the area that revealed that access to computers was substantially below that of the general population of the country. New Deal's Education Theme Chaired by local resident and New Deal board member Mick Taylor took up the challenge to address this problem, increasing access by the providing the laptops. Mick said; "The majority of New Deal students attend high schools outside of the New Deal area. Their ability to access computers after school is particularly important in order for them to support their homework research and access to the schools online curriculum. We believe that this initiative will go along way in supporting our students assisting them in achieving results that they will require for their chosen careers". To launch this innovative project, New Deal, in partnership with the schools will be holding a working seminar on the initiative on Wednesday 19th July 2006. The launch will comprise a photo sessions each in a nursery, a primary and a secondary school, that represent the range of pupils who will use this equipment. I addition there is a rolling programme to hand over the computers in the schools. The photo opportunities will be followed by a working lunch at the Blakenall Village Centre which will focus on; what the project can achieve and how to develop it further. The lunch will be attended by New Deal board members and staff, officers from Education Walsall, representatives of the schools and a director of Research Machines Plc, Mr Keith Spence. Ends..... Photo opportunities please contact Andy Bradley or Sally Gamston on 01922 712858: All photo opportunities will take place on Wednesday 19th July 2006 as follows;
For more information about the Walsall's New Deal Education and Learning Theme please contact Bob Marsh, 01922 712858 For more information about Walsall's New Deal please contact Andy Bradley or Sally Gamston on 01922 712858 Editors notes: The Project - Description Providing laptops in high schools will enable pupils to remotely access their school's curriculum and will support them in undertaking research. The Blakenall Village Centre and other New Deal premises will be 'enabled for wireless access' to the internet. The use of computers at the centre will help pupils with their work after school. Within Primary Schools a suite of computers, mounted on a storage trolley will increase the number of computers available to New Deal children, to assist them in their school work. The trolleys act as a base to recharge the computers overnight whilst they are in secure storage and provide wireless access to the internet for use in class. Nine primary schools have received these trolleys and their use is already proving highly beneficial. Four nursery schools have received similar trolleys, storing, recharging and enabling wireless access to the internet for 16 tablet computers each. These are more accessible to younger pupils and facilitate their work through interactive touch screens. The computers have been supplied by Research Machines Plc and the initiative has been supported by Education Walsall in order for them to be configured and set up within the schools. Walsall's New Deal for Communities is a regeneration initiative working in the areas of Blakenall, Bloxwich East and Leamore; the initiative received a £52 million Government grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government (formerly the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) to be spent on sustainable regeneration spread over a ten year period that commenced 2001. |
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