nell79

As someone who was there, I actually agree with the description 'angry mob'. I can't think of how else to describe people shouting over each other aggressively, likening the behaviour of the council to that of the Nazis, and accusing them of being responsible for the 'next Sarah Everard' by forcing women out of their cars. Many people felt unable to speak up for the changes (evident from discussions with people afterwards) or indeed ask questions, for worry of themselves being shouted at by residents opposed to the changes.

I didn't hear it that way. I felt he was just making a comment about this area generally being an affluent one, which is undeniably true - he clearly knows that everyone in this area isn't well-off, but policy has to be made on a somewhat general basis. It simply wouldn't be possible otherwise.

Hi Everyone, Some of you will remember us asking for help over in 2020 to 2021, when home schooling was happening, and it came to light just how many children were missing out on their education because their families didn't have access to a computer. People were amazingly generous in donating their old laptops, and we managed to refurbish over 40 computers, which were given to Goose Green primary school. Many people also donated some money directly to the school which was used to buy some new and refurbished computers. These were given to families to use for home schooling, and in some cases, teachers used them as the ones given were better equipped to cope with being used for online lessons. My husband and I are acutely aware of the funding crisis in schools, and the cost of living crisis for families too, and we wanted to see if we could ask again for any old or unused laptops you might have hidden in cupboards (!) or recently replaced, which we could try to put to good use. My husband managed to coax quite a few back to life by converting them to chrome books, which are more than adequate for children to use for their online work and word processing. If you have any you might be able to donate, me and my small folk would be really happy to come and pick them up from you. We now have links with three local schools, and we are hoping to help as many people as possible, either by getting laptops to schools (so they have to spend less of their budget on new computers) for use by teachers and pupils, or by schools giving the computers to families who are in need. This latter option is particularly important for families with children who are starting secondary school, and will be needing to do their homework on a computer. About us - we aren't at all from a tech background! I am a mental health social worker, and my husband is a chartered accountant, but he is very good at figuring computers out and getting them going whenever possible. When we occasionally had a computer that couldn't be fixed last time we did this, we could sometimes sell them for a few pounds for parts on Ebay, and then we used that money to buy chargers, keys etc for other computers. That wasn't usual though, and we often just bought the spare parts that we needed. We are doing this just because we discovered this is something that we can do to be helpful, and it seems such a shame when there are unused/seemingly unusable computers hidden away, when they could be wiped and got going again for someone in need to make use of. If you have a computer you would like to donate, please send me a message and I will get back to you to arrange to pick it up. We can't really do anything with computers with cracked/broken screens, or lots of missing keys (although we sometimes can use those for parts/get replacements if they aren't too old), but we often can do something with computers which are old or slow to make them useful again. Thank you in advance for your help! Helen

Update 16th January Thank you so much to all of you who have donated laptops. With a bit of work on them, some really old laptops have been bought back to life, and are now working brilliantly as chromebooks. Some others have worked well with Windows 10. We have managed to get 28 to the school so far, which are already loaned out to families. Thank you to all of you who have helped us in our appeal. We still need more of course as there are many children without access to a computer still, and this lockdown looks to be likely to continue for some time. This is an opportunity not only to help local children and families, but also to give a new lease of life to laptops which otherwise might just be for recycling. We have also had some kind donations to our Friends of Goose Green School Just Giving page which are going towards more laptops, so thank you so much for these too. Goose Green primary is part of Communitas, which runs three other schools (in Peckham, New Cross, and Rotherhithe), and we would of course share computers out to other schools if we manage to meet the demand at Goose Green. Thank you again for your help!

Yes, we have contacted some companies but no joy as yet. We are going to spend some more time on this though - thanks for the suggestion

Update 09/01/21 Thank you so much to everyone who has donated a laptop. So far we have got over 20 computers wiped, converted to chromebook, and in use by a child at our school. Goose Green have been offering a really comprehensive online programme, so these laptops are being put to maximum use!! It also means the we still urgently need to get machines to many more children, especially now that a lack of home computers means children are having to go in to school, unable to learn at home. If anyone still has a laptop to donate that needs collecting, I can come any time this weekend. We also have a few computers with no chargers that we are struggling to get, so if you have a old Mac, Acer, or Dell charger no longer in use, we would appreciate these too. My number is 07958 748 247 if its easier to text than use messaging on the forum. Thank you so much again in advance. Your help and generosity has been incredible, and so much appreciated. X

Thank you so much to all of you who have got in touch with the offer of laptops. Following tonight's announcement that the lockdown will be ongoing until the middle of February, we are more in need than ever of laptops to help our most at need families access education for their children. So if you have any laptops gathering dust (our only plea is that they do work!) that you could donate, we would be immensely grateful, as we are nowhere near being able to help all the families at the school who need to borrow a computer. Also, if anyone works for a company with an IT department that might have replaced some laptops and not disposed of the old ones, please ask them too! Your generosity and effort will not be forgotten, and will always be greatly appreciated xxx

Just a quick update. We had about eight laptops donated in response to this post, which was amazing - thank you so much to all those who donated! We were able to wipe them, turn them into chrome books, and they are already in use by children at the school. Goose Green school is still in great need and its anticipated that the Government scheme will nowhere near meet the needs of children at the school in term of laptops. Now we have had confirmation that the school will be switching to online lessons for at least two weeks, we are again in great need of any donations of functioning laptops we can prepare to lend out to families in need so children aren't further disadvantaged by having no access to online learning platforms. We had one laptop that was 13 years old and really slow, but once it was wiped and converted to a chrome book, it's perfect for what the children need. So if you got a new laptop for Christmas or are buying one in the sales, everyone at the school would be immensely grateful if you would consider donating your old one to us to lend to a child in need. We can pick it up from you in a socially distanced way of course. Thank you so much for giving this some thought. Helen (on behalf of the Friends of Goose Green school, PTA).

Sorry if I haven't got the language right, but the school has someone who is able to help to make this a safe process for anyone able to donate. I want to make sure people know this as I wouldnt want anyone to be put off!

Just in response to the helpful post about being cautious to remove personal data. We can absolutely help by talking anyone through the process of how to commence a reformat, which wipes the computer. Please don't be put off donating if you aren't sure how to go about it!

Thank you so much for your support. Friends of Goose Green have a Just Giving Page, and any donations are gratefully received. https://www.justgiving.com/goosegreen-primary

Yes, I understand its possible to convert Macs to Chromebooks too. So yes please!

Morning Everyone! The Friends of Goose Green Primary School are looking your help please. We have a huge number of children at the school who have no access to a computer at home, and haven't been able to join in home schooling during school closures or self- isolation, and also are not able to use online learning resources that the school uses for general home learning. The Government scheme promised lots of computers, but the school has since been told they will receive only six, and that is only if more than fifteen children test positive for Covid-19. In addition to our fundraising, we are also asking for donations of any old laptops you might have at home, which we could reformat and turn into Chromebooks, to lend to families. This is usually possible with laptops up to about ten years old. If you have got a new computer, and have an old one lurking at the back of a cupboard (as we did!), that you would be willing to donate, please let me know, and I will come and collect it from you with great thanks. Laptops can also be dropped off at the school if that's easier for you. Thank you so much! Helen

That would be great if they did. I'll go and have a chat with the manager and ask what the plans are - would be good for local families to be involved in the plans if possible Thanks for your replies