Tech support for Strath families

Almost 1000 digital devices have been made available by Perth and Kinross Council to pupils across the region to help them work from home.

Councillor Caroline Shiers, convener of the local authority’s lifelong learning committee, praised the delivery of over 950 new iPads, laptops and Probooks to local schools and thanked the IT teams involved in setting everything up digitally, describing them as the “unsung heroes of this period.”

However, some pupils have struggled with internet issues, which is something Cllr Shiers said she is raising with colleagues in both the UK and Scottish parliaments.

She added: “It is fair to say that, for those of us who have had to struggle with rural internet connections, working and learning at home has been a challenge.

“I know boosters and mobile devices have been made available to help some families to access better connections and I have spoken to families for whom this has made a huge difference.”

Cllr Shiers said there will be a variety of approaches to learning, with not all material having to be accessed online.

Crieff High School head teacher John Donnelly commented: “As part of our planned improvement of our IT infrastructure, we now have 150 additional laptops to complement our four IT suites and Digital Learning Academy.

“We have distributed 63 devices and four hotspots to support our young people to engage in remote learning.

“We will shortly be seeking to support families who have more young people in the household than available devices.

“In the meantime, Crieff High School remains partially open and we have supported between 20 and 35 attending young people each day that we have been open in 2021.

“This has allowed us to support our families with key worker adults who can attend their essential workplace as a result.”