Over 3,000 laptops delivered to pupils

More than 3,000 laptops and tablets have been delivered to disadvantaged children in Sunderland to help combat disruption to their education during the pandemic.

Department for Education data shows 3,218 machines had been sent by the the Government to the city’s schools by April 8 – but a teaching union says progress has been "painfully slow", and pupils who needed them during the lockdown have now been back at school for over a month.

Nationally, 99.7% of the 1.3million laptops and tablets promised by the Government as part of the Get Help with Technology scheme have been distributed.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The Government has been promising for months that it would deliver 1.3million laptops to schools and we are now tantalisingly close to seeing that target achieved.

“We do not underestimate the scale of the Government’s logistical operation but the truth is they were slow to react and progress since has been painfully slow."

Barnardo's said that, while action had been taken to provide technology to some of the poorest pupils, there were families still struggling without access to online services.

Javed Khan, the charity's chief executive, said: "We worked with Vodafone to deliver laptops and data bundles and now we would urge the Government to establish a clear strategy to eliminate digital poverty in the very near future.”