Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support children and young people who are home-schooled to access (a) a laptop and (b) broadband and WiFi in (i) Slough and (ii) England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This significant injection of laptops and tablets is on top of an estimated 2.9 million already owned by schools before the start of the outbreak.
The laptops and tablets are to help support schools, academy trusts and local authorities to provide access to remote education and online social care. Schools, colleges, academy trusts and local authorities are responsible for distributing the laptops and tablets and are best placed to know which children and young people need access to a device.
The Department has partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online, as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home to support online learning.
As of Monday 8 February 2021, over 986,000 laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers.
More information on the number of devices delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities, can be viewed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data.
The Department has been investigating an issue with malware that was found on a small number of the laptops provided to schools. In all known cases, the malware was detected and removed at the point schools first turned the devices on.
The Department takes online safety and security extremely seriously and any schools that have concerns about devices should contact the support desk at https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that children and young people in education have access to (a) a laptop and (b) broadband and WiFi in (i) Slough and (ii) England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This significant injection of laptops and tablets is on top of an estimated 2.9 million already owned by schools before the start of the outbreak.
The laptops and tablets are to help support schools, academy trusts and local authorities to provide access to remote education and online social care. Schools, colleges, academy trusts and local authorities are responsible for distributing the laptops and tablets and are best placed to know which children and young people need access to a device.
The Department has partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online, as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home to support online learning.
As of Monday 8 February 2021, over 986,000 laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers.
More information on the number of devices delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities, can be viewed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data.
The Department has been investigating an issue with malware that was found on a small number of the laptops provided to schools. In all known cases, the malware was detected and removed at the point schools first turned the devices on.
The Department takes online safety and security extremely seriously and any schools that have concerns about devices should contact the support desk at https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure infant school children have the devices and internet connectivity they need for home schooling.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Given the extremely challenging global supply context for devices, the Department has had to make difficult decisions about where provision is needed most. In Autumn 2020, following conversations with school leaders, the decision was taken to allocate devices to children in Key Stage 2 and above on the basis that children in younger years would be unlikely to be working on a laptop or tablet independently.
The Department’s guidance on remote education acknowledges that younger children often require high levels of parental involvement to support their engagement with remote education, which makes digital provision a particular challenge for this age group. We do not expect that solely digital means will be used to teach these pupils remotely.
We continue to review the eligibility criteria for the Get Help with Technology Scheme to ensure we meet the needs of disadvantaged children and young people.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to implement the recommendations from the January 2021 briefing by the Child Poverty Action Group on Digital exclusion during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. The Government is providing this significant injection of laptops and tablets on top of an estimated 2.9 million already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
As of Monday 8 February 2021, over 986,000 laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, academy trusts, local authorities and further education providers.
Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts, local authorities or further education providers who can lend these to the children and young people who need them most, during the current COVID-19 restrictions.
We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.
We are grateful to EE, Lycamobile, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile and Vodafone for supporting the mobile data offer. We are currently engaged with additional mobile network operators and continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) laptops and tablets and (b) 4G wireless routers have been delivered to (i) schools, (ii) local authorities and (iii) academy trusts as of 4 February 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.
As of Monday 8 February 2021, over 986,000 laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, academy trusts, local authorities, and further education providers.
Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities who can lend these to the children and young people who need them most, during the current COVID-19 restrictions.
The Government is providing this significant injection of devices on top of an estimated 2.9 million laptops and tablets already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Figures on the number of devices already delivered is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data/2021-week-6. These figures are broken down by local authority and academy trust.
The Department has already provided over 63,000 4G wireless routers, with free data for the academic year, and continues to provide 4G wireless routers where children need to access remote education. Data regarding the number of routers delivered is also published at the site above.
To support access to the internet, the Department has partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.
The Department is grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, BT Mobile and Lycamobile for supporting this offer. We are continuing to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer. Data regarding the number of pupils receiving free mobile data will be published shortly.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many dongles has been provided to primary school children who are learning from home and require internet access in (a) Kingston upon Hull North, (b) Hull City, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) nationally.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.
As of Monday 8 February 2021, this includes over 980,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities.
Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities, who can lend these to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.
The Government is providing this significant injection of devices on top of an estimated 2.9 million laptops and tablets already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Figures on the number of devices already delivered are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data. This includes 1,749 delivered to the City of Hull local authority. The Department have also delivered devices to academy trusts, including schools in Yorkshire and the Humber, which are not included in this figure.
Regional figures for delivery of devices are currently not available for the period requested and figures by Parliamentary constituency are also not available.
Where schools need additional devices to support disadvantaged children, they should contact the Department for Education’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of pupils in Years 3 to 13 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.
To support access to the internet, the Department have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online, as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. The Department are grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, BT Mobile and Lycamobile for their collaboration. We are currently engaged with additional mobile network operators and continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of digital devices provided for secondary school pupils who are learning from home in (a) Kingston upon Hull North, (b) Hull City, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) nationally.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.
As of Monday 8 February 2021, this includes over 980,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities.
Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities, who can lend these to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.
The Government is providing this significant injection of devices on top of an estimated 2.9 million laptops and tablets already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Figures on the number of devices already delivered are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data. This includes 1,749 delivered to the City of Hull local authority. The Department have also delivered devices to academy trusts, including schools in Yorkshire and the Humber, which are not included in this figure.
Regional figures for delivery of devices are currently not available for the period requested and figures by Parliamentary constituency are also not available.
Where schools need additional devices to support disadvantaged children, they should contact the Department for Education’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of pupils in Years 3 to 13 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.
To support access to the internet, the Department have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online, as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. The Department are grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, BT Mobile and Lycamobile for their collaboration. We are currently engaged with additional mobile network operators and continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of digital devices made available for primary school children who are learning at home in (a) Kingston upon Hull North, (b) Hull City, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) nationally.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.
As of Monday 8 February 2021, this includes over 980,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities.
Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities, who can lend these to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.
The Government is providing this significant injection of devices on top of an estimated 2.9 million laptops and tablets already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Figures on the number of devices already delivered are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data. This includes 1,749 delivered to the City of Hull local authority. The Department have also delivered devices to academy trusts, including schools in Yorkshire and the Humber, which are not included in this figure.
Regional figures for delivery of devices are currently not available for the period requested and figures by Parliamentary constituency are also not available.
Where schools need additional devices to support disadvantaged children, they should contact the Department for Education’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of pupils in Years 3 to 13 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.
To support access to the internet, the Department have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online, as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. The Department are grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, BT Mobile and Lycamobile for their collaboration. We are currently engaged with additional mobile network operators and continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2021 to Question 132912 in children, when the 440,000 additional devices will be distributed to disadvantaged children.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is now investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.
As of Monday 1 February 2021, over 927,000 laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, academy trusts, local authorities, and further education providers.
We are making further deliveries all the time and expect to achieve our overall commitment of 1.3 million devices this term.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many dongles have been provided to secondary school children who are learning from home and require internet access in (a) Kingston upon Hull, (b) Hull City, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has provided over 54,000 4G wireless routers across England, with free data for the academic year 2020-21, and continues to provide further 4G wireless routers where children need to access remote education. Data regarding the number of routers delivered will be published shortly.
In addition to providing wireless routers, we have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.
We are grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, BT Mobile and Lycamobile for supporting this offer. We are continuing to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.