Cardiff City Council has said it will provide its schools with 10,000 new Chromebooks by the end of the autumn term, enough for every pupil within one year group.
The local authority has already provided 8,500 digital devices to children and 3,000 to teaching staff since March.
“Absence from school due to Covid-19 means that pupils will need to receive their education through a blended learning approach which combines online educational materials with traditional classroom methods. It is therefore essential that pupils and our workforce have access to good digital provision,” said Councillor Sarah Merry, Cardiff’s cabinet member for education.
“Ensuring that all children have access to digital provision has been part of a long term strategy for Cardiff, due to be put in place later this year but was brought forward by the needs created during the pandemic. This long term solution means that all children and young people are presented with the same opportunities and will not miss out on learning delivered online.”
Provision of digital devices for pupils varies widely. In England, the Department for Education recently changed the way it allocated laptops for schools, reducing availability.
Simon Hyde, the general secretary of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference which represents top private schools, has said the Government should provide all pupils with a laptop suitable for learning to help address a digital divide resulting from coronavirus’ impact on schools, according to a report in Times Educational Supplement.
Image by Ben Salter, CC BY 2.0
