Laptops handed out but young pupils ‘miss out’

But school leaders’ union the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) says younger primary school children are still missing out on the £400 million scheme.

Department for Education (DfE) data shows 6,433 laptops and tablets had been sent by the Government to Sandwell Council, or its maintained schools as of February 7.

It was 749 more than the 5,684 reported on January 17 – an increase of 13 per cent. In Walsall, 4,676 laptops and tablets were sent by February 7 – 608 more than the 4,068 reported on January 17, a rise of 15 per cent.

The Government sent 3,933 laptops and tablets to Staffordshire County Council, or its maintained schools, as of February 7 – 535 more than the figures reported on January 17, an increase of 16 per cent.

The data shows 2,835 laptops were sent by the Government to Dudley Council by February 7 – 353 more than the 2,482 on January 17, a rise of 14 per cent.

And in Wolverhampton, 3,359 laptops and tablets were sent by February 7 – 293 more than the 3,066 reported on January 17, an increase of 10 per cent.

The figures do not include devices allocated to academy trusts, as they are not maintained by the local authority.

Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children’s services at Dudley Council, said: “We are really grateful to the Government for this excellent scheme, which to date has delivered nearly 3,000 laptops to children in the borough.

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"It is enabling children who don’t have IT facilities at home to have access to a laptop, facilitating their learning during this difficult time while schools are closed due to lockdown.”

A Walsall Council spokesman said: “During this lockdown schools and settings have been in a position to order laptops and devices directly from the Department for Education for their disadvantaged children.

"Walsall Council will continue to support our schools and settings in delivering high quality remote learning to our children and young people.”

Councillor Joyce Underhill, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for best start in life, said: “It is vital children continue to learn while at home and we hope these devices will help them get the best from remote learning.

"We know what a struggle home learning can be for children, parents and carers so we hope these laptops and tablets will help.”

Wolverhampton Council deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, Councillor Louise Miles, said: “We continue to work closely with schools during the Covid-19 pandemic to close the digital divide.”

NAHT director of policy James Bowen said while it was good to see more devices being delivered to pupils that needed them, the Government had still failed to answer why it has excluded younger pupils from the scheme.

A DfE spokesman said: “We continue to provide laptops and tablets at huge speed and scale for those children who need them the most.”