Richard has welcomed the announcement that pupils across Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough have benefited from 1193 and 1058 laptops and tablets to date, respectively, as the Government hits an important milestone in its rollout of devices to support disadvantaged young people.
More than 1 million laptops and tablets have now been delivered to schools and local authorities across England, as part of a £400 million investment that will support schools and young people for years to come. The news comes after the Department for Education last month announced a further 300,000 laptops and tablets to help even 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. This includes partnering with the UK’s leading mobile network operators to provide free data to disadvantaged families, alongside a further £300 million being invested in tutoring programmes building on the existing £1 billion Covid Catch Up Fund.
To further strengthen remote education provision, the government has also 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.
To further bolster the quality of remote education for all students, the Government has strengthened the minimum standards for remote learning provision, so every child, no matter where they learn, receives the great education they deserve.
Commenting, MP for North East Bedfordshire, Richard Fuller, said:
“No child should miss out as a result of the disruption caused by this pandemic. That is why it has been our priority to equip those children most in need with the resources they need to succeed.
“I very much welcome that young people across Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire are continuing to benefit from the raft of measures the Government has put in place to help schools deliver high-quality learning and the 2,251 devices we now have received across both local authorities combined will ensure no child’s education is hindered, regardless of their background or circumstance."
