Extracts from Education Questions - Nov 23

The Secretary of State for Education (Gavin Williamson): At every stage, we on the Government side of the House have championed the importance of schools and getting children back into schools. We have done everything we can to support schools to welcome children back. We have done everything we can in terms of the over half a million laptops that are going to be distributed, and are being distributed, to schools to support remote learning. We recognise the fact that children have lost out as a result of this covid pandemic. That is why the Government pledged £1 billion-worth of support to schools to help them catch up that lost learning.

Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood) (Lab): Knowsley is one of the most deprived boroughs in the country and has had its allocation of laptops cut from 1,065 to 282 since the Government’s 80% cut in allocations. Fifty-six of the 61 schools in Knowsley have at least one bubble self-isolating and one primary school in Halewood in my constituency which currently has 60 children self-isolating has been allocated six laptops. Half the children in that school have no access to technology at home, so how exactly are headteachers meant to comply with the Government’s regulations that schools must provide immediate access to high-quality, remote learning for pupils who are self-isolating?

The Minister for School Standards (Nick Gibb): Any school where pupils are self-isolating, and which has disadvantaged students who do not have access to a computer, is able to contact the Department to acquire extra computers beyond those allocated. I am told that it takes 48 working hours to have those laptops delivered to the school. In the context of significant global demand for laptops and tablets, we have updated the process of allocating those devices to schools to align more accurately with the number of students typically self-isolating. This will help to ensure that those who are self-isolating and need a laptop or a tablet are able to receive one.

Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab): Teachers in Coventry South have stressed to me the importance of pupils having access to computers at home, but many children from working-class communities do not have that. One school in my constituency, Ernesford Grange Community Academy, found that 12% of students—101 pupils—struggle to access a device at home. The Government introduced a new duty on schools to provide online learning, but the next day they slashed the allocation of laptops. Ernesford Grange saw its allocation fall from 111 to just 22, so will the Minister today guarantee that every school in Coventry has the laptops that their students need?

Nick Gibb: The allocation is to schools that are not necessarily sending children home to self-isolate—that is to all schools, whether or not their pupils are self-isolating. We need to make sure that there is a computer—a laptop—for every disadvantaged pupil who does not have one who is self-isolating, and because we made that decision, we are able to ensure that every pupil in those circumstances will receive a computer. All they have to do is phone the Department for Education, and they will have the computer, if they fulfil the eligibility, within 48 hours of putting in that call.

Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con): Many teachers are also having to self-isolate. For those who are healthy, are we ensuring that they are able to assist with online learning?

Gavin Williamson: We very much are, and we are encouraging schools with teachers who are not in a position to be in the classroom, to ensure and support online learning straight into children’s homes. It is absolutely vital we do so. As we see more and more testing becoming available, we can release staff so they can be back in the classroom supporting the amazing work that is already going on there.