Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 32
32
Not Addressed
Set out funding, renewal, and disposal strategies for government-provided school digital devices.
Recommendation
Digital devices provided to schools by the Government must be maintained and kept secure through regular renewals and software updates. The Department for Education must set out a funding and renewal strategy for device management alongside a strategy for disposing of digital hardware that is no longer fit for purpose within the first year of the new Parliament. (Paragraph 136) 52 Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing
Government Response Summary
The government's response details existing support for schools, including digital standards, procurement services, and past device provision during the pandemic. However, it does not commit to setting out a new specific DfE funding and renewal strategy for device management or a strategy for disposing of digital hardware, as requested.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
Our strategy to help schools implement reliable and sustainable technology focuses on fixing the basics of connectivity, support with procurement and setting standards, including on devices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DfE delivered 1.95 million laptops and tablets to schools, trusts, local authorities, and further education providers to support disadvantaged children and young people. These devices enabled educational settings to provide remote learning tools to those who needed them most, addressing the immediate challenge of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since students have returned to the classroom, DfE has focused on fixing the basics of technology in schools. We have published digital and technology standards to help schools and colleges make more informed decisions about technology, ensuring safer, more cost-efficient practices and new learning opportunities for students. To support schools in meeting these standards, we have invested in connectivity infrastructure and developed a digital support service, Plan technology for your school. A key priority has been improving connectivity, which underpins effective classroom technology. We have worked with commercial providers and DSIT to fund gigabit-capable broadband rollout to over 1,500 schools. Additionally, through our Connect the Classroom programme, we have invested over £215 million to enhance Wi-Fi connectivity in more than 3,700 schools, benefiting over 1.3 million pupils. We recognise that effective digital strategies help schools and trusts make better, more informed technology decisions. That’s why we have developed Plan technology for your school, a service which supports schools in their technology use and meeting the digital and technology standards. This service also helps schools and colleges fulfil critical statutory safeguarding obligations around filtering and monitoring, as outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education. To help schools with purchasing technology including devices, DfE offers the ‘get help buying for schools’ service which provides the opportunity for schools in England to get free help from procurement specialists. This free-of-charge service helps those in schools responsible for buying goods and services to achieve the best commercial outcome and value for money. The service provides specific advice and support on buying a range of goods and services for their school compliantly, utilising, for example, DfE-recommended frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems. Our laptop, desktop and tablet standard for schools and colleges sets out considerations for to support schools with the sustainable disposal of hardware.