Thousands of Cheshire children receive laptops and tablets

But school leaders' union National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) says the Government's rollout of devices was still not finished, claiming children had been "miserably let down" by the scheme.

Department for Education data shows 1,657 laptops and tablets had been sent to Cheshire East Council or its maintained schools as of January 17.

That was more than treble the 551 reported on January 12.

In Cheshire West, 3,031 laptops and tablets had been sent to the council or its maintained schools as of January 17, more than double the 1,223 reported on January 12.

The figures do not include those allocated to academy trusts, as they are not maintained by the local authority.

The devices handed out this academic year are in addition to the almost 2,000 laptops and tablets which were provided for care leavers, pupils with social workers and Year 10 pupils across the two Cheshire authorities during the 2020 summer term.

Across England, around 1 million laptops and tablets have so far been distributed for disadvantaged young people during the pandemic by the Government.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says that figure will rise to 1.3 million with a further 300,000 devices.

However, the Government has faced criticism over the scheme – a poll by NAHT of its members found nearly half had received fewer than 10 per cent of the laptops and tablets requested.

NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said: “The Government’s attempts to provide devices and internet connections for all pupils who need them are still incomplete, even though we are more than nine months into the pandemic."

The number of laptops and tablets allocated for schools is decided by calculating how many children are eligible for free school meals and an estimate of devices the school and children already have.

Schools can ask for additional devices.

Children are classed as disadvantaged if they have no digital devices or are sharing a single device in their household, or they only have access to a smartphone.

Mr Williamson said: “I know that teachers, school staff and parents have continued to work collaboratively and immensely hard since the start of this term to help children to learn at home and we know it is absolutely vital that we get devices out to children who need them the most.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson

"We are committed to delivering those devices to support both schools and families with remote learning and I’m proud to see us pass over 800,000 devices issued to schools and councils through the pandemic, with nearly 240,000 of those issued since schools closed to most pupils this month.”

Eddisbury MP Edward Timpson says the government is ‘doing everything we can’ to ensure children have access to remote education.

He said: “The difficult decision to close schools and colleges was not taken lightly, but is necessary if we are to keep the new variant of the virus at bay in Eddisbury and across the country.

Eddisbury MP Edward Timpson

“While nothing can ever replace the benefits of learning in a classroom for our children and young people, we will continue to do everything we can to make sure they have access to a high-quality remote education, so they can receive the world class teaching that they deserve.”