December 9, 2021
When the IT team from our West Sussex office were having a clear-out of old equipment in the IT storeroom, they decided to donate some of our old laptops to a special needs school in Horsham.
The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee School caters for pupils with severe or profound learning difficulties or complex needs in the Sussex area.
“We had a pile of old laptops that we were either going to sell back to our supplier or send to be recycled and scrapped. It was decided that we’d donate our old but still working laptops to the school.”
Patrik spent his volunteering day (and some of his free time after work) wiping, prepping and testing the laptops, and once they were all done, he and his manager delivered them to the school, much to the delight of the teachers and students.
The school is already making good use of the 25 laptops that were donated. Digital Media/ICT Technician, Stephen Candy, says: "We’d like to say a massive thank you to First Central for their very kind donation. These laptops have made a big difference to all our students, as it has enabled us to replace all the laptops on our school laptop trolley.
“Now, instead of assorted computers of varying ages and reliability, they'll be able to access fully working machines, with the same controls on every one, and lose no time waiting for them to switch on or connect.”
As a special needs (SLD/PMLD) school, a lot of the students at QEII rely on technology to access their learning and support their needs through photos and videos rather than pen and paper. The donation of these laptops has enabled some individual students, who benefit from typing instead of writing due to fine motor skills challenges, to use a computer on a regular basis, which will help them to develop and learn at their own pace.
Stephen adds: “Having enough fully working laptops to go around has a huge benefit for the students, as they don't have to slow their learning waiting for their turn due to limited equipment, and they're able to use a computer for their own needs while the rest of the class can still continue learning on other computers. All of this helps every child fully realise their potential, unlimited by IT shortages.”
The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee School caters for pupils with severe or profound learning difficulties or complex needs in the Sussex area.
Special delivery
Field Services Technician, Patrik Perkovic, explains: “My partner, who works at the school, would often tell me how old and slow the computers there were, with some still running on outdated versions of Windows.“We had a pile of old laptops that we were either going to sell back to our supplier or send to be recycled and scrapped. It was decided that we’d donate our old but still working laptops to the school.”
Patrik spent his volunteering day (and some of his free time after work) wiping, prepping and testing the laptops, and once they were all done, he and his manager delivered them to the school, much to the delight of the teachers and students.
Making a difference
The school is already making good use of the 25 laptops that were donated. Digital Media/ICT Technician, Stephen Candy, says: "We’d like to say a massive thank you to First Central for their very kind donation. These laptops have made a big difference to all our students, as it has enabled us to replace all the laptops on our school laptop trolley. “Now, instead of assorted computers of varying ages and reliability, they'll be able to access fully working machines, with the same controls on every one, and lose no time waiting for them to switch on or connect.”
As a special needs (SLD/PMLD) school, a lot of the students at QEII rely on technology to access their learning and support their needs through photos and videos rather than pen and paper. The donation of these laptops has enabled some individual students, who benefit from typing instead of writing due to fine motor skills challenges, to use a computer on a regular basis, which will help them to develop and learn at their own pace.
Stephen adds: “Having enough fully working laptops to go around has a huge benefit for the students, as they don't have to slow their learning waiting for their turn due to limited equipment, and they're able to use a computer for their own needs while the rest of the class can still continue learning on other computers. All of this helps every child fully realise their potential, unlimited by IT shortages.”