Inclusive Education

Schools and education providers can benefit from an excellent offer from T-Mobile with 12 months pre-pay mobile broadband now costing only £127.65 + VAT (where applicable).

In addition to providing Internet access for remote schools/educational establishments, this offer also allows Traveller and other mobile communities to stay in touch with their base school and to continue their education throughout the travelling period.

More information is available by following this link.

Delays in the issuing of loan payments from the Student Loans Company (SLC) is hitting disabled students with many being unable to afford vital equipment or specialist help for the start of the new academic year.  Conservative estimates is that 80% of the disabled student population is being affected, with Government figures identifying that the SLC have so far distributed £43m less this year than compared to the same time last year despite a rise in the student population, due in part to the current financial situation.

There is currently disagreement over how long it will take to clear the back log, with some campaigners claiming this could be as high as 75 weeks.  Figures obtained from the SLC by the National Association of Disability Practioners show that by last week only 3,294 applications had been fully processed out of 15,371 applications.

The government allocates around £90m every year to disabled students. They can qualify for around £5,000 for equipment, and more than £20,000 to pay for a personal helper. This year the SLC took over the processing of applications, which are complex and require detailed medical evidence.  

A statement issued by the SLC apologising to disabled students caught up in the delays said: “We recognise that the work is more complex than general loan application processing, and so over the last two months we have doubled the size of the team working on the cases.”

The results of an official enquiry into the problem is expected by Christmas.