Commenting on the Week 43 school attendance statistics published by the
Department for Education today, Geoff Barton, General Secretary
of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“This analysis paints a grim picture of the increasingly
challenging situation facing schools with attendance falling
amidst rising Covid infection rates. With the majority of schools
in England on half term this week, there is now a short pause
while school leaders and staff brace themselves for what is
clearly going to be an even more difficult half term ahead.
“In this turbulent context, it is crucial that schools are able
to provide disadvantaged pupils with laptops so they can work
from home if they have to self-isolate and do not have access to
these devices. However, it is very clear that the government has
completely underestimated the number of laptops that are needed.
“This is evident from the fact that at the end of last week, just
as most schools broke up for half term, the government informed
many schools that their allocation of laptops was being
drastically reduced in order to prioritise devices for the areas
of highest need. It is clearly the case that demand is
outstripping supply at an alarming rate.
“Our impression is that the government has never fully grasped
the scale of the challenge both in terms of the numbers of
devices that are needed and over ensuring that families have the
connectivity they require. It is very frustrating that progress
has been so slow on this front despite the fact that it has been
discussed for many months.
“We do recognise that officials have worked hard to source and
distribute laptops, but the failing has been the lack of a clear
understanding of what is needed together with a target and
timescale that would at least have given confidence that the
government is on top of the issue.”
