Electronic devices for all county’s pupils

HUGE PURCHASE A MUST IN DIGITAL WORLD, SAY EDUCATION LEADERS

COUNCILLORS in Gwynedd have backed an “innovative” plan to provide electronic devices for all the county’s school pupils.

Acknowledged to have been partially prompted by last year’s lockdown, the £5m project will be partially funded by the Welsh Government and the local authority and offer new equipment to all pupils, regardless of their family’s means.

Affecting 17,000 pupils and another 1,100 teachers, the strategy will see Year 5 pupils receive a Windows 10 laptop, which they will hand back when finishing secondary school.

With iPads between four pupils set to be shared within younger primary school age groups – and not expected to be taken home – individual Chromebooks will be provided for every Year 3 and 4 pupil.

The move will also provide all 1,100 teachers with a laptop, enabling them to work from school and from home via the Hwb platform, accessible by the pupils’ devices.

With the sheer bulk of purchase expected to drive the cost down, the project also includes upgrades to the schools’ wi-fi networks.

Gwynedd Council will fund half of the expected £3.9m cost of replacing the devices in five years’ time, but schools will also be asked to contribute the remainder.

The head of education described the move as “innovative”.

“If there’s anything we’ve learned from the various lockdowns, it is the importance of children having access to technology and the ability to use it confidently,” Garem Jackson went on to say.

“The irony is the strategy was formed before then but we’ve learnt so much in the meantime and it has spurred on the process.

“It is ambitious; I don’t know of any other Welsh authority planning to do this, but there are very exciting aspects.”

Members were also told there was much discrepancy in the condition and accessibility of IT equipment across Gwynedd’s schools, with officers arguing that the plan would ensure parity across the board.

Despite schools endeavouring to provide local families with around 2,500 Chromebooks during their lockdown enforced closure, officers noted it was “stark” how many homes did not have any suitable devices which the children could use to access learning materials.

With 6,000 devices having already arrived in some primary schools, the programme will move forward to secondary pupils and teachers.

Cllr Craig ab Iago said: “I’d like to congratulate the authority for this move to bridge the gap between the have and the have nots.”

Education portfolio holder Cllr Cemlyn Williams concluded: “There is no doubt these new ways of working and living will intensify and become the ‘new normal’ over the coming years.

“It is more important than ever that Gwynedd’s young people and school staff have the IT equipment they need to thrive within this new digital environment.”