Skint Dad

Where Every Penny Counts

  • Home
  • Save money
    • Latest supermarket offers
    • 1p Saving Challenge
  • Make money
    • Best Paid Surveys
    • Quidco New Member Offers
    • Genuine Work From Home Jobs
  • Manage money
  • Cheap recipes
    • Fakeaway Recipes
  • Win
    • Skint Dad competitions
  • Deals
    • Amazon Discount Tool
  • Join us
    • Newsletter
  • About
Home / Save Money / Free extra data allowance to support kids over lockdown

Free extra data allowance to support kids over lockdown

By Naomi Willis | last updated 6th January 2021 | This post may contain affiliate links

Win BIG cash prizes with your postcode! 100% FREE to enter
Share
Tweet
Pin

Parents can now to access free extra data allowance or free 4G wireless routers to help their children access online classes during lockdown.

child looking at laptop

Having kids at home during lockdown 1 was a new thing for all of us. We quickly had to adapt and do as best we can.

Moving into the lockdown now, you could say we’re dab hands at it – err, well, maybe not quite!

With a household full of people attempting to work from home, and kids needing access online to complete their school work, there are extra pressures on the family to have tech and decent broadband to keep up with demand.

Not all families can do this. I’ve spoken to several people who are struggling. One person has one laptop which they are meant to use for work, but they’ve given it up during the day so their child can study. They are trying to manage from their phone in the day and catching up on work in the evenings.

At first, the idea of working from home may conjure up ideas of flexible living, but some families are having to work harder than ever to keep up.

It’s also ok if you’ve got a super fast broadband connection, but so many don’t have fixed broadband. To get online, they need to use the data allowance from their phone.

That’s all well and good, but data runs out fast when you’re watching classes on YouTube or streaming live classes through Microsoft Teams/Zoom/whatever else the schools are using.

Recognising this will be an issue, and that kids will be disrupted in their education, several mobile phone providers have agreed to increase their data allowances.

How to get extra data

child writing next to laptop

During the lockdown, if children and young people don’t have fixed broadband at home, and cannot afford extra data, certain providers can give extra data.

The request needs to be made by a school, trust and local authority to increase data for the following networks:

  • Three
  • Smarty
  • Virgin Mobile
  • EE
  • Tesco Mobile
  • Sky Mobile

It’s been noted that other providers may join the scheme at a later stage.

The support is available to all schools with children in years 3 to 11.

child writing

When lockdown ends, the request can still be made if children need to self-isolate and study from home.

Schools can also request for children who cannot attend school face-to-face because:

  • they’re clinically extremely vulnerable
  • restrictions prevent them from going to school

Once the school has requested the data on your behalf, you will get a text message to confirm you’ve got more data.

Increasing internet access

Sometimes have extra mobile data isn’t an option.

Instead, schools can request a 4G wireless routers.

Contact your school, trust or local authority to make the request.

NEW: Kid’s education on CBBC

children learning

If getting access to the internet is still a problem, or you need to change things up for the sanity of your kids (and you!) there will now be school programming on free to air TV.

From Monday 11 January 2021, the BBC is launching its biggest eduction offering ever.

For smaller kids, they have access to 3 hours of primary school education from 9 am.

Lessons will include BBC Live Lessons and BBC Bitesize Daily. There will also be other educational shows such as Our School and Celebrity Supply Teacher and titles such as Horrible Histories, Art Ninja and Operation Ouch.

Secondary school students will be able to watch BBC Two with at least 2 hours of content supporting the GCSE curriculum each weekday.

Content is created around Bitesize Daily secondary shows, complemented by Shakespeare and classic drama adaptations alongside science, history and factual titles from the BBC’s award-winning factual programming units.

The BBC is bringing its biggest ever education offer from Monday 11 January:

@CBBC will have a three-hour block of primary school programming from 9am.

@BBCTwo will cater for secondary students with at least two hours of content each weekday.https://t.co/NXpJSb7AHm pic.twitter.com/fyjvs4yWgW

— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) January 5, 2021

BBC channels are also available on the red button and iPlayer for catch up, if needed.

Obviously, as this is on BBC and iPlayer, you will need to pay for a TV licence to access the content. I know many people have given up paying this over the last few years to save on costs, which may also cause a further issue.

  • About
  • Latest Posts
Naomi Willis
Editor at Skint Dad
Naomi knows the burden of living on very little and became debt free by learning from past mistakes and following her own money saving tips and tricks.
Latest posts by Naomi Willis (see all)
  • M&S increase £15 free school meal voucher to £20 - 15th January 2021
  • Supermarket offers, deals and bargains this week at Aldi, Asda, Iceland, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and more - 15th January 2021
  • Sainsbury’s TU 25% off clothing | 2021 sale dates - 14th January 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

final sd bio
Skint Dad in the media
HIBS100 Index of Home and Interior Blogs
HIBS100

Find out how to

Save money

Make money

Manage money

Start a blog

Eat cheap

Win competitions

Join us

Information

About Skint Dad

Contact us

Awards, Media and Press

Jobs at Skint Dad

Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy

Terms & Conditions

SKINT DAD®

8b Lonsdale Gardens
Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN1 1NU

Skint Media Limited
is a registered company
in England & Wales.

Company reg no: 09991508
VAT No: 318 7349 80

Check out our sister site Skint Chef

Copyright © 2021 · Skint Media Limited · All rights reserved · Registered in England and Wales with company number 09991508 · Sitemap · Privacy Policy · Cookie Policy · Terms and Conditions

Skint Dad | Where Every Penny Counts! Logo Header Menu
  • Home
  • Save money
    • Latest supermarket offers
    • 1p Saving Challenge
  • Make money
    • Best Paid Surveys
    • Quidco New Member Offers
    • Genuine Work From Home Jobs
  • Manage money
  • Cheap recipes
    • Fakeaway Recipes
  • Win
    • Skint Dad competitions
  • Deals
    • Amazon Discount Tool
  • Join us
    • Newsletter
  • About