Councillor Susan McGill, Convener of Children and Young People Committee in Stirling Council welcomes the update on the increase of digital capability in Stirling Schools
Stirling Council will aspire to provide a Chromebook for all secondary school pupils and pupils in upper primary school by the autumn term.
The local authority has invested in the state-of-the-art devices to equip Stirling’s young people with the skills to thrive in an increasingly digital workplace and society and as part of its commitment to equal opportunities.
It also ensures the Council will be prepared to action contingency plans for a blended learning model, with pupils attending school on some days and learning at home on others, should this be required by the Scottish Government (the current guidance is for schools to return full-time in August).
All young people in S2 and S3 in Stirling schools already have access to a Chromebook as part of a Council initiative to supply technology in a rolling programme. This initiative has been in place since the start of 2018/19 session*.
This continued and substantial investment by the Council, has recently been further supplemented with funding from the Scottish Government’s Digital Inclusion Grant.
This will roll out additional Chromebooks to all young people from P6 to S6, ensuring they have devices and, where needed, appropriate connectivity to access digital learning.
With the huge demand for laptops from schools across the UK due to the pandemic, the devices may not all be available for the resumption of school on August 12. While this will not have an impact on learning – given the latest Scottish Government guidance is for a return to full-time schooling in August – the Council’s Education Service is working hard to have the devices in classrooms as soon as is reasonably practicable.
Convener of Stirling Council’s Children and Young People Committee, Cllr Susan McGill said: “The Council’s successful Chromebook initiative ensured we were a leading light in Scotland for digital learning before the current crisis.
“Since the closure of schools at the start of the pandemic, there has been a focus on increasing levels of digital inclusion to support learning and we have accelerated our plans to roll out these devices across our settings.
“Our significant investment in this modern, safe and reliable technology shows our commitment to ensuring our children and young people are equipped with the digital tools they need to succeed and achieve their potential.”
Infrastructure work to support the major expansion of digital provision is underway. All secondary schools will be upgraded by the end of August, with primary schools to follow shortly afterwards.
The Council has also appointed three Digital Lead Officers to provide specialised support for each sector – secondary, primary and early learning – and will launch a new one-stop shop learning platform, jam-packed with digital learning resources that can be accessed by young people, teachers, parents and carers.