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Help provide vital educational support to 11,705 Australian children living with poverty this Christmas.
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Poppy

Children living in poverty are facing a new frontier of disadvantage

Poppy is experiencing a problem no generation has faced before. It’s called ‘digital inequality’. 

To make the most of their schooling, it’s now vital that every Australian child has access to a reliable computer, internet and digital skills support.

Without them, children in today’s classrooms can struggle to engage in schoolwork, complete their homework and assignments, do research, and access online learning. Digital inequality means children like Poppy are unable to keep up and achieve all they’re capable of.

Poppy is in her first year at high school and like so many students she already has a dream of being a journalist. To fulfill that dream she desperately needs a laptop and reliable internet to access crucial learning opportunities. But living in poverty means these tools are out of reach.

Girl and her mum, doing homework at kitchen table
I would give Poppy anything. The food from my plate, the clothes from my back. It breaks my heart I can’t give her something as basic as the digital tools she needs for school.
Donna, Poppy’s mum

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Right now 1 in 6 young Australians live in poverty.1 Your support can help children like Poppy access the digital resources they need to make the most of their learning and reach their full potential.
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A serious and growing problem

Our teams working with families every day are seeing the growing impact of digital inequality and we need to address this now before it becomes even worse. 
1 in 2 families supported by The Smith Family didn’t think they’d be able to afford the digital resources their children need for school.2 
This number is likely to grow as the ongoing cost of living crisis puts more Australian families like Poppy’s under financial pressure. 

Children like Poppy are missing out. They’re locked out of crucial learning opportunities that other students take for granted.   

Your gift will help support a child through the new Digital Learning Essentials program. The program provides:
an icon of a laptop with a chart on the screen

Laptop

A refurbished laptop pre-loaded with key learning programs to do schoolwork.
an icon of a modem with a wifi symbol above symbolising being connected to the internet

Internet

Reliable internet access to empower online learning and research.
an icon of a computer with digital skills icons overlay search and settings, padlock for security and light bulb for learning

Digital skills

Support to expand digital skills - including how to stay safe online. 
an icon of a tech support person

Tech support

Access to a technical helpline, so nothing gets in the way of learning.
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Poppy is trying so hard at school. But without a laptop or proper internet, she hasn’t even got the basics.
Donna, Poppy’s mum.

Support today unlocks a child’s tomorrow

When a child falls behind at school, their confidence, self-esteem and motivation can be impacted. They may disengage with school altogether.3

Research shows that students who do not finish Year 12 or equivalent, have fewer employment opportunities and are less likely to go on to further education.

Providing access to a digital device, the internet and skills support now will empower a child like Poppy to to do schoolwork and participate fully in class.

They’ll be better prepared to keep up with their classmates, to take advantage of the crucial learning opportunities available to them, and to finish Year 12.

Please act now to give a child like Poppy the digital tools and learning resources they need to get back on track and complete their schooling.

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School girl sitting in classroom
Having access to digital learning tools means Poppy feels more confident and engaged with her schoolwork.

Help provide the critical tools to every child’s education

Our Digital Learning Essentials program provides an extra level of support to help students overcome the digital inequality caused by poverty.

With your support more Australian children will have the necessary tools to do their best at school.

icon of laptop
97% of parents said having a laptop and internet has helped their children’s education.4
icon of desktop
81% of parents said their children’s computer skills have improved.4
an icon of a laptop with a ticks against learning modules and a large tick showing completion
80% of parents said their children’s ability to do schoolwork has improved.

Please donate today to provide a child like Poppy with the digital learning resources she needs in this school term. Poverty and the digital inequality it causes shouldn’t hold a child back.

Your support will help provide a child with access to a refurbished laptop and digital skills – essential tools no child should be without in today’s classrooms. Show your support by making a donation today.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Some schools have laptops they can lend out to children whose families are experiencing disadvantage. But with so many more families coming under financial pressure in this tough economy, few schools have enough resources for all the children who can’t afford a device.

Currently, the requirement for laptops and the support provided is at a school level. However, schools vary dramatically in their ability to provide students with the basic digital resources they need for learning. This is primarily due to the different funding and resourcing capabilities of schools throughout Australia.

While some schools that offer a Bring Your Own Device policy may have support for student laptops, many of our partner schools are unable to provide an individual laptop to each student in need. Another requirement for digital inclusion is having home internet access. This is not a resource that schools usually offer, which means students are unable to access crucial online studying resources from home.

The Smith Family works with our families and partner schools to understand the digital inclusion needs of our Learning for Life students so we can provide the specific digital resources required. With the generous support of donors and corporate partners, we can ensure every student has a laptop device, home internet access, digital skills, safety training and technical support, so they can access vital online education and learning opportunities.

As part of our Digital Learning Essentials program, we pre-install each device we send to families with a digital safety handbook that provides crucial safety information and parental control instructions.

The digital safety handbook takes parent/carers through a step-by-step guide to online safety around the common cyber threat of scams, online bullying, inappropriate content, social media addiction and more. There are also conversational points for parents/carers to discuss online safety and the risks and challenges children might face on the internet.

Parental control step-by-step instructions are included in the handbook alongside screenshots as a visual guide. Parents are also advised to set up time limits (this can be done on the device), block age-inappropriate sites and to filter different types of content. In addition, many social media sites, games and apps come installed with parental controls that extend to all Windows, Android and Apple Devices.

The Smith Family also provides parents/carers with ongoing safety support through the Learning for Life Help Centre that includes a free call number, email, a chat bot and online tech support articles. The digital safety information follows the guidelines from leading eSafety resources:

The Smith Family’s goal is for all Learning for Life students to be digitally included by June 2027. This means that every student is able to access a laptop device, reliable internet at home, and resources to improve digital literacy and safety skills.

With the initial roll out of devices, The Smith Family will prioritise students on a needs basis and consider:

  • Number of students within the family without access to a device
  • Students transitioning to high school who do not have access to a device
  • Students from Year 4 (when schools often introduce Bring Your Own Device ) and Year 10 (compulsory years of schooling)

The Smith Family also asks families on an annual basis to update their Digital Status on our family portal called My Smith Family. This includes providing the number of devices and type of home internet connection.

This helps us to understand what digital resources families have so we can monitor delivery effectively.

The cost of digitally including a student varies widely, as it’s based on the digital needs of each individual student. These needs will consider whether a student requires a laptop device, has a home internet connection, their internet data package, the digital literacy skills of students and parents, and the ongoing technical support required. The combination of components required will determine the overall cost to digitally include a student.

The average cost of providing Digital Learning Essentials to a student is $770. This covers the cost of providing a laptop, delivering internet data for a year, providing digital literacy and safety skills, as well as supporting students with ongoing technical support.

Your generous donation goes towards ensuring every Learning for Life student (including your sponsored student) has the digital tools and resources they crucially need for school.

We are rolling out the Digital Learning Essentials program on a needs basis, prioritising those students who need it most. We prioritise based on the age of children and their digital inclusion needs – considering whether a student currently has access to a computer device, their home internet connection and data package, their digital skills level and the technical support required.

With the extra support of caring donors, we can reach our goal of digitally including all our Learning for Life students by June 2027.

* Mila's name, location and associated images have been changed to protect their identity.
1The Smith Family Pulse Survey (2023)
2Ready, set, upskill: Effective training for the jobs of tomorrow, RMIT Online and Deloitte Access Economics, 2021.
3The Smith Family Annual Report Program Outcome Summary 2022/23