Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what software he is providing to help children and families access remote learning.

We are funding schools to get set up on Google or Microsoft digital education platforms. These platforms bring together the school community, pool resources and give pupils the opportunity to work with their peers remotely. As of 5 January 2021, 6900 schools have applied for a digital platform as part of the Get Help With Technology programme.

This is part of over £300 million being invested to support access to remote education and online social care services, which also includes securing over one million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.

Over 560,000 laptops and tablets have already been delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities in 2020. The devices come with standard software packages included, and this allows schools to make their own choice on how best to provide remote education according to their own local needs. This may include acquiring software of their choice.