Buckinghamshire’s vulnerable pupils given 850 laptops to help them learn at home

The council has been allocated 850 laptops and 145 4G routers from the Department for Education in an initial delivery, with further devices for the use of disadvantaged Year 10 pupils due to arrive in the next two weeks.

A team of staff have been supporting the laptop preparation which includes unpacking each device, configuring it for each individual student recipient, then repacking and labelling ready for dispatch to schools. The devices will be distributed to care leavers and children aged up to 19 with a social worker who don’t already have a device at home.

Anita Cranmer, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “It’s been all hands to the deck to prepare the laptops ready for distribution to students, so that each laptop is ready to use as soon as they’re taken out of the box.

"I’d like to thank the council staff who have worked so hard to get the preparation work on these crucial pieces of equipment under way so quickly.

“We are so pleased to be able to help roll out this extra support to our most disadvantaged pupils in this way. It will mean those students will be able to much more easily access online learning until they are able to return to school. It will also give an additional boost to the work we’re already doing with our most vulnerable students through, for example, our Virtual School."

The rollout of laptops in Buckinghamshire is part of a package announced by the Education secretary, Gavin Williamson, to support online learning opportunities for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people across the country during the Coronavirus outbreak.