Local scheme aims to close the digital gap for young people in care
The Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) has launched Tech4Young People in Care across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, a programme designed to provide refurbished laptops and connectivity support to children in care aged 11–19. The scheme is backed by £160,000 of funding from East of England education technology organisation E2BN and will include workshops for professionals who support looked-after children.
Organisers say the project intends to ensure young people in residential centres or foster placements have individual devices for schoolwork, applying for jobs and maintaining social contacts — tasks which can be difficult where a household device is shared or non-existent.
Local need and scale
Nationally, local authorities in England were responsible for 81,770 looked-after children in 2025. Within the DPA’s launch area, Ofsted figures show 705 children in Cambridgeshire and 416 in Peterborough were recorded as being looked after.
| Area | Children looked after (2025) |
|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire | 705 |
| Peterborough | 416 |
| England total | 81,770 |
The DPA says the project will not only provide hardware but will also offer connectivity support and training for foster carers and professionals so devices are used effectively to support education and wellbeing. The initiative will be evaluated by the DPA together with Shearwater Global to measure impact on education, social lives and wellbeing, with findings intended to inform national policy recommendations.
What organisers say
“Children in care should be able to do schoolwork online, keep in touch with friends, and apply for their first job the same as everyone else their age. But too often that relies on having access to a laptop and a working internet connection which they don’t always have, or that laptop is shared.”
The quotation, from Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance, underscores the DPA’s framing of digital access as an equality issue rather than a convenience. Kathy Olsson, Education Manager at E2BN, said the organisation hopes the project will reduce the disadvantage experienced by pupils in care in the region.
Practical elements and evaluation
Tech4Young People in Care will:
- provide refurbished laptops to young people in care aged 11–19;
- offer connectivity support to ensure devices are usable at home;
- run workshops for professionals and foster families on making the most of the technology;
- be evaluated to assess effects on education, social interaction and wellbeing.
The stated intention to use evaluation findings to make policy recommendations links the local pilot to wider debates in Whitehall on how to address digital poverty. Central government policy in recent years has focused on digital skills and broadband rollout, but practical interventions for children in care have been less visible, meaning local pilots such as this could attract national attention if evidence demonstrates measurable benefit.
Local consequences and wider context
For Peterborough, where hundreds of children are in care, the scheme could affect school attainment, support smoother transitions into training or employment, and reduce isolation that sometimes accompanies placements. Residential homes and foster households often juggle shared devices among several children; a programme that supplies individual laptops aims to tackle that precise structural disadvantage.
However, hardware alone does not guarantee improved outcomes. The DPA’s inclusion of connectivity and training recognises that devices must be accompanied by access and digital literacy support to close gaps in opportunity. The planned independent evaluation will be pivotal in establishing whether a package of device, connectivity and training produces sustained educational and social benefits for young people in care.
As local authorities continue to manage pressures on children’s services and as national policymakers consider where to prioritise funding, the Tech4YPIC pilot in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will be watched closely by councils and charities seeking scalable solutions to digital poverty among looked-after children.
