WCC has now finished distributing laptops to the county’s more vulnerable children and young people to support their remote learning.
The county council purchased over 3,000 devices, which will be passed on to various groups of young people. All needs identified by schools, settings and colleges were met by the county council
The second release and delivery of laptops, numbering around 2000, have been distributed to the remainder of schools and settings who did not receive devices in the first phase of distribution. In this phase, young carers and Children Looked After (CLA) as well as special schools to support pupils with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and Infant Schools received laptops and equipment.
The need was identified through a demand assessment survey carried out with schools earlier this term. Schools will receive the devices, own them and distribute them to the pupils they identified as requiring this support.
The laptops are fully equipped with Windows 10 Home edition, firewall and anti-virus and have full three-year warranties. A further purchase of MiFis with unlimited data has also been made to support learners whose households do not have internet connectivity.
The laptops were purchased to complement the Government allocation which schools can access for Years 3 to 11 directly from the DfE scheme which prioritises Secondary and Junior age pupils.
Following the first phase of laptop/device distributions, the Council received a large influx of comments from Head Teacher, parents and carers about what the laptops meant to their young people, These included:
- “A slick and generous scheme!”
- “I wanted to say how amazing this scheme is and how much we appreciate it.”
- “Please express our appreciation to everyone who has made this initiative possible they will make our children very happy.”
Cllr Colin Hayfield, Portfolio Holder for education and learning, said: “I am delighted that this distribution has happened so quickly. Many devices went out weeks ago and the team has been working at a great pace to continue to source and distribute them as quickly as possible.
“While set in place to ensure that vulnerable learners had access to devices during the lockdown period, the devices are the schools’ to use as they see fit. They will continue to provide a valuable resource for some of our pupils so that they are not at any disadvantage to their peers as we start to move back towards a more normal style of learning.
“The comments that we received from schools have been so heartening. It has clearly meant a huge amount to them and to the children and the young people receiving the devices.”
Information for families about available assistance can be found at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies.