Fuse Blog

Hackney Laptop Appeal: join us in helping to bridge the digital divide

Written by Sally McDonald | Feb 18 2021

When our Founder & President, Steve Dineen, first established Fuse, he did so with a very clear mission: to democratise education for all. 

It’s a mission that the company still lives and breathes ten years later as we support our customers in developing their people and enabling continuous opportunities for learning. It’s also why we created FuseSchool – an educational platform that now delivers GCSE-grade education to 10 million learners around the world each year, for free. 

The long and short? We’re a bunch of self-proclaimed tech geeks, yes, but we’re also driven by a deep seated desire to enable learning for all, irrespective of job role, location - or any other demographic for that matter. 

It’s why we exist, and we’re incredibly proud of that.

Levelling the learning playing field

Of course, in the current climate, where millions of children are homeschooling with varying levels of support, there’s a very genuine threat that the digital divide could become the digital chasm. 

Sobering research from UK social mobility charity, the Sutton Trust, revealed last month that just one in 10 teachers can say all of their students have adequate access to a device for remote learning. That means a gut-wrenching 90% of young people are being unfairly disadvantaged.

breaking down the divide

We can’t let that happen - and we’re sure our learning industry comrades will share in that sentiment. 

That’s why we recently lent our support to Hackney Council after seeing their appeal for unwanted laptops - an initiative that has already enabled hundreds of young people to access the devices they need for homeschooling.

If you’d like to join us in supporting this invaluable cause, please get in touch with our friends at Hackney Council who will be happy to provide advice on how and where to donate. We know they’d love to hear from you. 

Together we can address the education imbalance - but it’s going to take a team effort. We hope you’ll join us in donating to the laptop appeal, or by making a financial contribution. Either way, you’d be making a positive - and very real - difference to a child’s education and future prospects.