Thousands of disabled children to benefit from innovative digital inclusion programme

The new programme will provide over 20,000 participants with access to digital devices, skills training, and ongoing support to help them navigate the digital world with confidence and safety.

We join other children’s charities – Ambitious about Autism, The Children’s Trust, Contact, Dingley’s Promise, Family Fund, Kids, National Deaf Children’s Society, Rainbow Trust, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, Sense, WellChild and Whizz Kidz to deliver this programme.

It runs over two years and each of our twelve charities will deliver a bespoke programme of digital support, whilst collectively meeting a growing need and preference for online and hybrid support. By combining services, devices and data, the programme will address a stark inequality of access and ensure the evolution of digital services is user-led.

The idea for the initiative was born out of the Covid pandemic, when Kids charity commissioned research with the Disabled Children’s Partnership to better understand the experiences of digitally disadvantaged and disabled children, young people and their families. The Locked Out report concluded that digital access can be a real lifeline – enabling access to friendships and vital services including therapies, information, advice and mediation. This work has power to make the most difference to groups supported by all our charities, who are more likely to experience isolation and barriers to in-person services.

At Family Fund, we drive digital inclusion by providing grants for technology. We give families digital devices like computers, laptops and tablets, and support parents and carers of disabled or seriously ill children aged 8-25 to gain digital skills and enhance digital confidence, including help accessing the internet and how to safely set up and use devices. We also offer creative workshops for children, to learn, socialise and have fun online.

Alison Davies, Family Fund’s Head of Service Development and Delivery:

“We’re excited for the launch of the Digital Services Consortium’s first programme. This is the culmination of extensive work by our member organisations who are working together to ensure all disabled children, young people and their families have better access to digital devices and online opportunities on a daily basis.”

As a sector, we are stronger together. Having worked in partnership to build evidence of the experiences of those we supported throughout the pandemic, we were able to prove the potential impact of a deeper collaboration on this important issue- not only could we change thousands of lives, but also, the future of digital service delivery design, and the funding landscape. Digital access is a right not a luxury. We are determined to work with young people and their families to bring down the barriers and create safe, practical and fulfilling online opportunities for all.

Katie Ghose, Chair of DSC and Chief Executive of Kids

Rachel Perrin, Vice-Chair of DSC and Associate Director, Operational Programmes at Sense, said:

“We are thrilled to be partnering with digital and disability inclusion experts, Good Things Foundation and AbilityNet, and evaluation partner CAST for the programme, and together we hope to influence the sector’s ability to meet the challenges and opportunities of the long-term shift to digital and hybrid services for the communities we serve.”

Expanding our digital support for families

Being members of the DSC will help us connect more families with the support of our partner organisations. Funding will enable us to create more opportunities for disabled children, young people and their families. We’re:

• Offering new ‘Coding club’ Saturday morning workshops for children.
• Providing more workshops and support for users of Android devices.
• Developing a new online query facility.
• Improving our online resources, including guides and e-learning information.

Thanks to National Lottery players, the DSC has received over £1.5 million over two years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. The DSC has also received a grant of £400,000 from BBC Children in Need for two years to provide digital support for disabled or seriously ill children and young people and their family members across the UK. Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone have generously donated devices and data through the Good Things Foundation National Databank and Device Bank which will help address affordability barriers.