Vodafone UK Extend Free Mobile Data to 150,000 More School Kids

Mobile operator Vodafone have today extended their offer of free Data SIMs (mobile broadband), which come packed with a 30GB (GigaByte) allowance – valid for 90 days, to help another 150,000 primary and secondary school children to stay connected with their education during the COVID-19 crisis.

The operator’s schools.connected programme essentially gives schools the ability order Vodafone’s data SIMs, which will then be given to pupils who find it “difficult to access education from home” because they don’t have the right broadband ISP connectivity. The move may help to mitigate some of the disruption caused by COVID-19.

So far Vodafone has already offered 350,000 free data SIM cards and reached over 9,000 schools and further education colleges as part of this scheme. The latest extension, which is being supported by Mail Force, means that a total of 500,000 pupils across the UK will soon have been given the help they need to get online.

Headteachers can request a maximum of 80 SIMs for a secondary and 50 for a primary. SIM cards are allocated on first-come-first-served basis, but priority is given to areas with higher numbers of free-school-meal pupils.

Ahmed Essam, CEO of Vodafone UK, said:

“We are delighted to be working with the Mail Force Computers for Kids initiative to continue our schools.connected programme. Getting connectivity into the hands of children and young people who need it the most has been our priority throughout the pandemic. By working together we will be able to extend the programme to reach half a million young people right across the UK.”

I encourage schools and further education colleges to apply – together, we can ensure no child is left behind.”

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