The Challenge
Ormiston Families’ Breaking Barriers service works directly with children who have been affected by familial imprisonment—many of whom have witnessed arrest in their own homes. Having a parent in prison is a recognised Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), placing affected children at significantly greater risk of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, and eating disorders.
These children frequently face negative school experiences such as bullying, persistent truancy, and failure to achieve in educational settings. Many are not accessing education full-time, and due to financial difficulties and poverty, they lack the necessary IT equipment to access work set by schools, severely limiting their ability to learn at home and reducing their chances of accessing further education and future employment.
Children affected by imprisonment often remain hidden, unidentified by any statutory body, and receive little or no support unless they find specialist charities like Ormiston Families. Non-offending parents or carers are left to rebuild their lives—sometimes having to relocate due to stigma—while managing the practical and emotional needs of their children.
The gap was clear: without devices, these vulnerable children couldn't fully participate in education, learning, or socialising with their peers, denying them equal opportunity to reach their full potential.
The Partnership
Rebooted partnered with Ormiston Families, to provide refurbished laptops to children affected by parental imprisonment, enabling them to continue their education and stay connected during some of the most challenging periods of their young lives.
A Story That Stands Out
One young person's story particularly highlights the transformative power of access to technology.
Following the arrest of his sibling—which he witnessed—this child was diagnosed with PTSD and began suffering severe panic attacks and anxiety. Before the arrest, he had been settled in school and accessing education full-time. But by the time Ormiston met him, he had been excluded from school several times.
The team requested a laptop from Rebooted to enable him to continue accessing education while at home. Due to the deterioration in his mental health, he had become withdrawn and isolated. When he received the laptop, everything changed.
Not only could he access online education, but he could also reach out to family and friends. As his mother said, "This will open up his world."
The Wider Difference
Breaking Barriers is a short-term intervention programme, and or these two recipients, the devices achieved their core aim: enabling the children to engage in online learning during times they were not in school.
Both the children and their mothers were happy to have been supported to overcome this challenge—the means to learning is now available to them.
But the impact goes beyond education. In the experience of Breaking Barriers, when families are supported to overcome one obstacle, they find the strength to overcome others. A donated device creates a connection—to learning, to friends, and more. It also allows the non-offending parent to seek employment, access benefits, organise and pay utilities, and receive support for themselves and their children.
For families affected by imprisonment, devices also enable access to 'Purple Visits'—online visits with the imprisoned person—maintaining crucial family bonds during separation.
The Partnership Experience
Breaking Barriers has found the communication and support from Rebooted to be excellent, and they hope to continue building on the partnership.
As they put it: "Charities like Rebooted are essential to closing the gap."
Why This Matters
A lack of a device in the household means that children are unable to fully participate in education, learning, and socialising with their peers, resulting in them not having an equal opportunity to reach their full potential.
For children already facing the trauma of parental imprisonment, digital exclusion compounds their disadvantage and isolation.
Rebooted's work with partners like Ormiston Families Breaking Barriers is helping to ensure that these hidden, vulnerable children have the tools they need—not just to learn, but to connect, to hope, and to build a better future.
To find out more about Ormiston Families.
Get Involved
If your organisation has end-of-lifecycle devices or would like to support Rebooted's mission to provide technology access to families affected by imprisonment, get in touch:
hello@rebooted.me
rebooted.me