AROUND 1,400 students in Torfaen who do not access to an appropriate device with which to learn from home will be given laptops, the county borough council has announced.

Since lockdown began in March, students across Wales have been learning from home as schools have closed for the majority of pupils.

In April, the Welsh Government announced plans to explore the position of digitally excluded learners and to identify possible solutions to help support them during the coronavirus pandemic.

A digitally excluded learner is a student who does not have access to an appropriate internet connected device to engage in online learning activities from home.

Torfaen County Borough Council’s IT provider, Shared Resource Service, has upgraded 1,400 school laptops which will be made available for parents to collect from their child’s school.

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The Welsh Government will also provide MiFi devices, which enables a WiFi connection at home for pupils with no access to the internet.

Torfaen’s member for education, Councillor Richard Clark, said: “This is an outstanding achievement from all involved in such a short space of time.

“It is hoped that this will have a really positive impact on the mindset and abilities of these young learners and it will ensure that pupils have greater online access to teachers, Hwb and other online learning materials at home.”