Internet Connectivity Support

If you are having internet connectivity (mobile hotspot or Wi-Fi) issues that interfere with your child’s ability to access their remote learning, please refer to the two schemes that have been put in place to support families.

BT Wi-Fi Vouchers

The school has successfully applied for the free BT Wi-Fi vouchers to enable pupils in need to access the internet at home.

A few important notes:

  • The Wi-Fi voucher is in the form of a unique username and password

  • Each username and password should only be allocated to one pupil as it can only be used once. Wi-Fi access is until the end of July 2021

  • Before contacting your child’s year team for the codes, please access our Wi-Fi hotspot checker to look-up your student’s postcode. This is to ensure there’s sufficient Wi-Fi coverage at the address using the free Wi-Fi and therefore a good chance that a Wi-Fi hotspot can be used. Carrying out this check is really important to avoid disappointment - this solution won’t work for everyone

  • OR If after logging in to their device / phone, your student can't see a BT Wi-Fi icon in the list of available networks (even after trying from different rooms in their home), then unfortunately this means there is no coverage and our help desk will be unable to resolve this issue. For more information on finding a BT Wi-Fi hotspot, read this article

Once you have checked and you’re good to go…

Contact your child’s year team who will allocate you the unique Wi-Fi user names and passwords. To help you get up and running quickly, please be sure have a look at our useful Get Started Guide.

Mobile Data Allowances for Children & Young People

Department for Education’s pilot offer to increase mobile data allowances for children and young people during remote learning.

Overview

This guide is to explain the Department for Education’s pilot offer to increase mobile data allowances for children and young people during this remote learning phase. Once you have read all of this guide and are happy to proceed then contact the child’s year team who will take the relevant information and the school will submit it to the Dept for Education.

Each mobile provider will vary in how quickly they process requests. Once a network provider has processed a data increase, they’ll send a text message to the account holder.

Who can get help?

This scheme is open to children and young people who:

  • don’t have access to a fixed broadband connection

  • cannot afford the additional data needed to access educational resources or social care services

  • have access to a mobile device that uses a participating network

  • are facing disruption to their face-to-face education, or have been advised not to attend school

What information you’ll need to collect?

To request extra mobile data (after you have read the privacy notice at the bottom of the document), you will need to contact the child’s Year Team at school with the following information:

  • the account holder’s name

  • their mobile number (a number beginning with ‘07’)

  • their mobile network

  • whether they pay monthly or pay as they go

What data someone will get depends on their mobile network.

Some networks can’t offer data to Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) customers.

Details below of the networks that are supporting the scheme [if your provider is not on the list you will not be able to access the scheme]: 

Network involved offers

EE [pay monthly and PAYG]

Be aware that until the end of January, it may take EE some time to process requests.

  • The recipient will get 20GB of additional data per month until 31 July 2021.

  • The offer is available to both Pay Monthly and Pay-as-you-go customers.

  • A text message will be sent to the nominated device once the additional data has been added to the account.

  • EE will process no more than 60,000 requests across all schools. If they reach this limit, they will not accept further requests.

Sky Mobile [Pay monthly only]

  • The recipient will get 100GB of additional data.

  • The offer is only available to Pay Monthly customers identified as needing this support. It’s not available to Pay-as-you-go customers.

  • Sky Mobile customers will be able to see the data uplift in their piggybank.

  • Sky Mobile will aim to process the request within 14 days.

  • Sky Mobile will process no more than 1800 requests across all schools. If they reach this limit, they will not accept further requests.

Smarty [pay monthly and PAYG]

  • The recipient will get unlimited data until 31 July 2021.

  • The offer is available to both Pay Monthly and Pay-as-you-go customers.

  • A text message will be sent to the nominated device once the additional data has been added to the account.

  • Smarty will aim to process the request within 14 days.

Tesco Mobile [pay monthly only]

  • The recipient will get 20GB of additional data per month until 31 July 2021.

  • The offer is only available to Pay Monthly customers identified as needing this support. It’s not available to Pay-as-you-go customers.

  • A text message will be sent to the nominated device once the additional data has been added to the account.

  • Tesco Mobile will aim to process the request within 14 days.

  • Tesco Mobile will process no more than 1,000 requests across all schools. If they reach this limit, they will not accept further requests.

Three [pay monthly and PAYG]

  • The recipient will get unlimited data until 31 July 2021.

  • The offer is available to both Pay Monthly and Pay-as-you-go customers.

  • A text message will be sent to the nominated device once the additional data has been added to the account.

  • Three will aim to process the request within 14 days.

Virgin Mobile [pay monthly only]

  • The recipient will get 20GB of additional data per month until 31 July 2021.

  • The offer is only available to Pay Monthly customers identified as needing this support. It’s not available to Pay-as-you-go customers.

  • A text message will be sent to the nominated device once the additional data has been added to the account.

  • Virgin Mobile will aim to process the request within 14 days.

  • Virgin Mobile will process no more than 1750 requests across all schools. If they reach this limit, they will not accept further requests.

  • Wi-Fi hotspots are open to all existing customers, including those on Pay-as-you-go. Customers on Pay-as-you-go will need to have a minimum of £5 credit. Instructions to download the app and find their nearest hotspot can be found by going to www.virginmedia.com/wifiapp.

 

Dept for Education Privacy statement

  1. For the purposes of data protection, I need to let you know that the Department for Education (DfE) is running the Mobile Network Offer through schools and their trusts or local authorities.

  2. If the offer is taken up by an adult account holder, the school or social care team will share the account holder’s name and mobile phone details with the DfE, who will share these with the relevant mobile network operator.

  3. The mobile network operator will use that information to increase the data available for the account holder’s mobile device, as long as they qualify for the offer.

  4. The adult account holder’s personal data is only shared with their mobile network operator for the purposes of the offer. No names of children or other adults, other than adult account holder, are shared with the DfE or the mobile network operator.

  5. No personal information will be shared with the DfE if you do not want to take up the offer.

  6. If you want to know more about how your personal information will be used before you take up the offer, we can send that to you first.

  7. If you decide to take up the offer, you’ll get a text message from the Department for Education with more information about your data protection rights.

If the account holder wants to receive some written information first, you can use this link to our privacy information.