Make sure you’re cashing in on the free data schemes to help with home-schooling
Many of us are home-schooling during lockdown which means we’re using a lot more data than usual. If we go over our limit it can be expensive. Fortunately, wifi providers are offering freebies to help us get by.
The Department for Education has teamed up with internet providers in a data scheme for home learning. Through this you can apply for BT’s free wifi vouchers. The vouchers are allocated to schools in proportion to the number of kids at a school eligible for free school meals.
It’s up to your child’s school to request the vouchers, which they can do on the BT website.
If you think you qualify for the vouchers and you haven’t heard anything, speak to your child’s teacher and ask for help.
Once a school has had an application accepted, each child will get a unique username and password, allowing them to log in to one of BT’s hotspots.
The scheme is only available to schools in England, Wales and Scotland.
Virgin Media is also offering free data to families that are struggling. Your child’s school needs to request support on your behalf so speak to a teacher or administrator.
O2 is giving families who are struggling with connectivity, 40GB of free data. Again, the scheme can be accessed via schools, who can apply on behalf of parents.
Quids in! says: If you already have a broadband supplier or mobile phone contract, it’s worth checking what extra, free help you can get. For example, BT Mobile and EE mobile customers can apply for free, unlimited data until the end of July 2021.