More than 100 additional laptops and tablets have been made available to underprivileged children through the Bedford Education Authority in recent weeks, figures show.
But the Association of School and College Leaders said progress had been “extremely slow” and students who needed laptops during the lockdown have now been back in the classroom for more than a month.
Data from the Department of Education shows that 1,331 laptops and tablets were sent by the government to Bedford Borough Council or its maintained schools on April 8.
This was 130 more than what had been reported on March 14, an increase of 11%.
Across England, 99.7% of the 1.3 million laptops and tablets the government pledged under the Get Help with Technology program were distributed to underprivileged young people during the pandemic.
Figures do not include devices allocated to academic trusts, as they are not maintained by local authorities.
ASCL General Secretary Geoff Barton said: “The government has been promising for months that it will provide 1.3 million laptops to schools and we are now very close to seeing that goal achieved.
“We don’t underestimate the scale of the government’s logistics operation, but the truth is that they were slow to respond in the first place, to start slowly, and progress since then has been painfully slow.”
Barnardo’s said that although steps were taken to provide technology to some of the poorest students, there were still families struggling without access to online services.
Javed Khan, managing director of the association, said: “Barnardo has partnered with Vodafone as part of the Great British Tech Appeal, to provide laptops and data sets to families forced to decide between feeding their children, heat their homes and pay for essential data.
“Now we are urging the government to establish a clear strategy, together with local agencies, charities and partner businesses, to end digital poverty in the very near future. This is essential to “improve” the opportunities for all. “
The DfE said the devices provided were essential to ensure that children and young people continue to access education and social care during the pandemic, and that they will give schools the flexibility to decide how they will be used most usefully in the future.
The number of laptops and tablets allocated to schools was decided by calculating the number of children eligible for free school meals and using an estimate of the devices the school and children already own, although schools may ask. additional devices.
In addition to laptops and tablets, 105 4G wireless routers were donated to Bedford Borough Council to help families with limited internet access.
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Source: www.bedfordtoday.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-20 10:52:41
