Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 23
23
We asked the Department about its plan for remote learning in the future since the...
Conclusion
We asked the Department about its plan for remote learning in the future since the laptops that had been distributed would need replacing in due course. The Department told us that the pandemic had shown that there was an appetite for support from the Department. It aimed to provide guidance and information, in particular to build knowledge among schools about what good-quality remote education looks like. But the Department also noted that there was a balance to be struck between doing things centrally and allowing schools the autonomy to make their own choices.43
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
4.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 4.2 The government has invested over £400 million in devices, internet access and training to support access to remote education and online social care services for disadvantaged children and young people. This injection of 1.3 million laptops and tablets to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education colleges supplemented the 2.9 million devices that were already in the system. 4.3 Devices are owned by the institutions to which they were allocated. They are responsible for maintaining the devices and ensuring they are put to good use, and they may have valid reasons for restricting their devices to onsite use while face-to-face education is not disrupted. 4.4 The department will build on the foundations of this investment in technology by developing an evidence-based strategic approach to technology use in the education sector, and will explore options that create a more resilient, digitally enabled system. This approach will consider devices and the infrastructure and capability required to make the best use of these devices. 4.5 The department will evaluate the impact of the Get Help with Technology intervention and take this into account when developing its future policies on digital inclusion and use of technology in education and children’s social care. 4.6 The department may need to prioritize its interventions and will take an evidence based and user-centred approach in collaboration with the sector and with industry. The Committee’s recommendation will be taken into account as the department develops its approach.