“IF businesses and schools combined, the opportunities for pupil outcomes could be incredible.”

That’s the message from the headteacher of a primary school as local businesses are urged to help out the borough’s youngsters.

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Phil Sherwood, from Uplands Primary School and Nursery in Sandhurst, told the News his school needs new laptops to support his pupils’ remote learning.

The school cannot afford to pay for the technology itself after losing several weeks worth of rental income from leasing the school’s rooms.

Furthermore, due to the increased popularity of working from home, the prices of laptops have shot up.

The combination of these factors means Uplands needs the support of local businesses to aid their children’s learning.

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Phil said: “At Uplands, we are finding that we have lost expected revenue from rental income, and the cost of remote technology, such as laptops, is now more expensive than pre-COVID-19.

“Therefore, we have both an increase in costs and a reduction in income, creating a gap in what we potentially can provide for the pupils and staff of the school and nursery in the near future.

“We are looking for local businesses and enterprises to connect with Uplands to discuss creating relationships and mutually beneficial partnerships.

“This could help us with our technology and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities, and could help a business with its wider moral support or community objectives.

“As a Teaching School, we work with many alliance members and could help wider than Uplands as well.

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“It is the perfect time for us all to support the schools of now and the adults of the future by investing in their educational provisions and we, as a school, cannot do this alone.

“If businesses and schools combined, the opportunities for pupil outcomes could be incredible.”

Bracknell Forest Council’s scrutiny team is set to discuss the impact the pandemic is having on borough schools like Uplands at a meeting tomorrow (October 13).

Councillors are “keen” to find out how schools have responded to coronavirus, the ICT provisions available to them, how the changes are affecting pupils’ mental health and more.

Officers and Children, Young People and Learning boss Cllr Gareth Barnard are set to field the overview and scrutiny commission’s questions, which also include queries on exams, budgets and protections for teachers.

Can you help Uplands Primary School? If so, contact Phil Sherwood at office@uplandsprimary.org