AS Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 spotlights the theme ‘This is My Place’, tech charity founder James Tweed is calling on the UK's IT departments to donate surplus laptops and devices to help some of the country’s most overlooked vulnerable children.

Tweed founded Rebooted to support the children of prisoners and provides laptops so they can learn at home.

“Having a parent in prison can be traumatic and often leads to a child struggling at school,” says Tweed. “If that child then falls behind digitally or is excluded from education, their long-term prospects narrow dramatically. It’s a vicious circle and we need to break it early.

“For many of these children, school is already unstable,” he says. “If they also lack access to reliable technology at home, they’re starting from behind. In 2026, digital access isn’t a luxury, it’s foundational.”

With businesses refreshing hardware on regular cycles, Tweed believes IT leaders are sitting on a practical solution.

“Across the UK, thousands of perfectly usable laptops are sitting in storage cupboards or heading for recycling,” he says. “Those devices could transform a child’s ability to learn, revise and stay connected to school.”

Crucially for IT heads, data security is central to the model. All donated devices are securely wiped and processed by Rebooted’s technology partner, GeTech, using certified data erasure procedures.

“Security is non-negotiable,” Tweed says. “Every device is professionally wiped to recognised standards before it’s redeployed. IT teams can donate with complete confidence.”

Children’s Mental Health Week, launched in 2015, focuses this year on belonging and ensuring young people feel they have a place in their communities. Tweed argues that digital access plays a direct role in that sense of inclusion.

“We talk a lot about wellbeing and belonging,” he says. “But if a child can’t access homework platforms, revision tools or basic digital resources, they quickly feel excluded. Technology can either widen the gap — or help close it.”

Rebooted is now urging CIOs, IT directors and managed service providers to review surplus stock and consider structured donation programmes as part of their ESG and sustainability strategies.

“This is practical, measurable impact,” Tweed adds. “Instead of gathering dust, those devices can help ensure a vulnerable child can genuinely say, ‘This is my place.’”

IT leaders interested in donating surplus equipment can find more information at: https://rebooted.me/