Gate Ventures is a company that delivers meals to schools and care settings for local authorities.
The Covid-19 ‘Educational Support Programme’ will provide computer equipment, tuition and mentoring to assists those most affected by the pandemic to catch up on lost learning. One in five pupils who are reliant on free school meals have no access to a home computer to access online resources.
The scheme includes an initial £100,000 donation from Tobun and by working with corporate partners the Tobun Foundation is aiming to raise more funds.
Tobun said: “I firmly believe that every child in this country has a right to an equal education. The Covid-enforced lockdowns have had a disproportionate impact on many disadvantaged young people who were already facing significant barriers to learning.
“The next generation are our Prime Ministers, doctors, nurses, and entrepreneurs and they will be shaping the country. We cannot afford to do them a disservice by not supporting them during this challenging period.
“While this initiative will not solve the long-term issues for education inequality, we hope that we will be able to help some young people be the best that they can be.”
The first programme is being implemented in London at Croydon Supplementary Education Project (CSEP), with further programmes being rolled out nationwide. The scheme will seethe Foundation offer maths, English and science tuition for three days a week for pupils from a disadvantaged background.