Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many devices were available to schools to support remote education requirements as of (a) 20 October 2020 and (b) 24 October 2020.

The Department has invested over £195 million to support remote education and access to online social care, delivering over 220,000 laptops and tablets during the summer term for disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have had access to a digital device.

The Department is adding to this support by making over 340,000 additional laptops and tablets available to support disadvantaged children that might face disruption to their education. Since September, over 100,000 of these have been delivered to schools. On 20 October 2020, schools who had reported disruption to face-to-face education and been invited to order devices were able to order their full number of allocated devices.

In the context of significant global demand, the Department has updated the number of devices allocated to each school to more accurately align orders with the number of students schools typically have self-isolating, ensuring as many children as possible benefit from receiving a device this term. Original allocations were based on a school’s total need, should they fully close.

On 23 October 2020, the Department paused ordering over half-term when children were not reliant on remote education. On Monday 2 November 2020, ordering reopened and schools who had reported disruption to face-to-face education and been invited to order devices were able to order against their revised allocation.

The Department recognises that levels of self-isolation may be higher in different areas of the country and that face-to-face education is being prioritised in all eventualities. Where schools believe they have a strong need for additional devices, they should contact covid.technology@education.gov.uk.