Children: Computers

(asked on 14th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many laptops, tablets and 4G routers the Government has distributed to eligible pupils during the coronavirus outbreak.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 20th October 2020

The Department has already delivered over 220,000 laptops and tablets and over 50,000 4G wireless routers to disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have had online access, as part of over £160 million invested to support remote education and access to online social care.

The Department is now supplementing this support by making an additional 250,000 laptops and tablets available in the event that face-to-face schooling is disrupted as a result of local COVID-19 restrictions and children become reliant on remote education. We are also working with the major telecommunications companies to improve internet connectivity for disadvantaged and vulnerable families who rely on a mobile internet connection.

The laptops and tablets are an injection of support to help local authorities and academy trusts to provide access to remote education and online social care services during the COVID-19 restriction period.

The Department arrived at an allocated number of devices by estimating how many pupils are without access to a device. The Department did this by combining data on the number of pupils eligible for Free School Meals in each school, with an assumption that some pupils’ needs will be met by the devices provided by the schools. The Department used the BESA ICT 2019 survey data on the average number of laptops and tablets in primary and secondary schools and assumed that these are distributed between teachers and pupils.

The Department has published data about the delivery of laptops and tablets, which can be viewed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/912888/laptops and tablets_and_4G_wireless_routers_progress_data_as_of_27_August_2020.pdf.

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