Sadiq Khan has thrown his weight behind the Mirror’s appeal to help needy children with vital school supplies.
The Mayor of London praised our Help a Child to Learn campaign, which is raising money to buy stationery and other essential kit for disadvantaged children during lockdown.
More than £64,000 has been raised since the appeal launched last week, kick started by a major £1million donation from the National Education Union (NEU).
Widespread shortages of basic supplies such as pens and paper are hampering children’s ability to learn at home, with 95% of NEU members saying they were teaching some pupils with scant resources.
Mr Khan said: “I applaud The Mirror on its Help A Child To Learn campaign and encourage readers to donate what they can to provide children with basic supplies to help them learn from home."
To donate to the appeal please click here
He added: “We don’t want any child to miss out on their education during this incredibly difficult period, or to make existing inequalities worse across the capital.
“Local council leaders and I are doing all we can to tackle the educational and digital divide.
“The Government must step up and provide more resources to schools to help pupils and their families.”
The Mirror is aiming to raise much needed cash for kids left working from home without the most basic items such as colouring pens, books and notepads.
All the money raised will go towards stationery and essential equipment for younger children still too young for online learning.
Our “Help a Child to Learn” campaign aims to help every child get the education they deserve during the Covid crisis.
In an unprecedented gesture, the NEU has kickstarted the campaign with a £1million donation, which will be targeted at schools in England with the highest proportion of children claiming free school meals.