Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education Settings Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Education
Tahir Ali
Main Page: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)Department Debates - View all Tahir Ali's debates with the Department for Education
Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education Settings
Tahir Ali Excerpts(2 years, 9 months ago)
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Gavin Williamson
I will share some of the guidance that we have. There is flexibility for schools, for those key transition years, to have some level of familiarisation with those children. I will organise it that my office shares that information with my hon. Friend.
Tahir Ali (Birmingham, Hall Green) (Lab) [V]
The number of children self-isolating has quadrupled during this month because of increases in cases of covid. Following this sharp rise, more children are now able to learn online from home with the IT equipment and internet access provided to schools by the Government. Hundreds of families in my constituency of Birmingham, Hall Green have benefited from the scheme, but I am now hearing that many of the devices have been either disabled or taken back by the schools. That has a significant impact on learning, especially for those who are living in poverty. It is important that access to IT equipment should not be disrupted. Will the Secretary of State therefore ensure that children keep the laptops and return them only when they leave school at year 6 or 11?
Gavin Williamson
The investment that we made in IT equipment is there to help pupils. Although those laptops are the property of the schools, we very much want the schools to prioritise using them to help children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. I will certainly take up the hon. Gentleman’s point and look in more detail at whether we can give more guidance and a stronger steer to schools to really emphasise that point.