1,300 laptops and tablets for disadvantaged students across Swindon

Pupils across Swindon have benefitted from 1,310 laptops and tablets to date, as the government hits an important milestone in its roll-out of devices to support disadvantaged young people.

More than 1 million devices have now been delivered to schools and local authorities across England as part of a £400million investment that will support schools and young people for years to come.

The figures don’t include devices delivered directly to multi-academy trusts.

The news comes after the Department for Education last month announced a further 300,000 laptops and tablets to help more disadvantaged children and young people learn at home.

Schools are already receiving top-ups to their original allocations, with those with the highest proportion of disadvantaged pupils being prioritised first.

The 1.3 million devices the government is providing sits alongside a package of extensive support for the most disadvantaged children.

Swindon MPs Robert Buckland and Justin Tomlinson have also been working with local businesses and individuals who generously donated devices, and local tech companies, SP Computers and Excalibur, who have kindly offered their time and services to restore the devices ready for use by children in need of them. Through this local scheme, 30 devices have been donated to children in Swindon schools. In addition to this both MPs have also worked with schools to ensure they are able to take advantage of the Government scheme.

This includes partnering with the UK’s leading mobile network operators to provide free data to disadvantaged families, alongside a further £300million being invested in tutoring programmes building on the existing £1billion Covid Catch Up Fund.

To further strengthen remote education provision, the government has provided more than 54,000 4G routers to schools and colleges across England, ensuring no child is prohibited from receiving a quality education due to a lack of internet access.

Meanwhile, the government has strengthened the minimum standards for remote learning provision so that every child, no matter where they learn, receives the great education they deserve.

North Swindon MPs Justin Tomlinson and South Swindon MP Robert Buckland said: “We are extremely grateful to teachers and parents during what has been a very challenging time. Under the current circumstances we know how important it is that all children have access to devices, and we are pleased with the significant investment to ensure no child is left behind.

“It has been wonderful to see the response from residents and businesses in Swindon following the appeal for devices, they will be hugely important in ensuring that no child misses out on their education.”