Leeds headteacher hits back at rumours laptops are kept 'locked up in school' - as they have received none from the Government

Bankside Primary in Shepherds Lane, Harehills, was promised 112 laptops - a figure which was cut to 63 and then 43 "with no explanation", according to headteacher Sarah Rutty.

Ms Rutty wrote to parents on Thursday (January 7) expressing her frustration over rumours about how many laptops the school had access to from the government

She wrote: "What a very difficult week it is and, today, the most difficult thing to sort out, is dealing with the rumours about laptops that are spreading around the community.

"These rumours appear to be based on a government document released in August 2020 and updated in December 2020."

She then went on to "share the actual facts", saying the school received no laptops in the summer term lockdown of last year, or in the autumn term.

In fact, the school lent out 130 of their own laptops in the summer term to support families to access Google Classroom, the first school in Leeds to do so, Mrs Rutty wrote.

She added: "Bankside has actually been allocated a total of 43 laptops by the government.

"This was initially 112, then dropped to 63. With no explanation of how this figure was reached, or why the figure dropped.

"However, we have received NO laptops so far and we continue to receive an email saying ‘you cannot access or order your allocation of 43 yet’ when we try to access

the devices allocated to us.

"Indeed we are now lending out our last few school laptops and are trying to make links with national charities to help fund additional machines."

In October last year, another east Leeds primary school headteacher, Chris Dyson, of Parklands Primary, branded the Government’s decision to slash the number of laptops allocated to his disadvantaged pupils to allow them to learn from home during the pandemic “a scandal”.

A war of words also broke out between Leeds City Council’s ruling Labour group and the opposition Conservative group over how many disadvantaged children had access to computers in the same month.

And a Conservative councillor in Leeds last week said he believed several local academies were "reluctant" to allow students to take IT devices home.

Bankside's MP, Richard Burgon, wrote to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson after he was contacted by the school.

He wrote: "The government's failure in relation to necessary equipment for schools is simply wrong and unjustifiable.

"Not only does it threaten students' education, but it threatens the fight against coronavirus by increasing the number of children who may be classified as needing to attend physical lessons.

"Schools, teachers, pupils and parents deserve better."

Ms Rutty urged parents in her letter to support the school over the issue, adding: But, most of all, you can help stop the unhelpful messages that Bankside is preventing children from accessing government resources, or keeping them locked up in school.

"Nothing could be further from the truth.

"We work tirelessly to do our Bankside best for our lovely children.

"Please support us by spreading this message to all those parents who have been confused by the unhelpful stories in the news, generated by inaccurate Government guidance documents."

On Monday, it was announced that the government was boosting its laptop and tablet programme with a further 300,000 devices – taking the total to 1.3 million

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "I know just how difficult the past year has been for parents and teachers, now more so than ever.

"I want nothing more than for every child to be in the classroom with their friends and teachers, but with that not possible we are doing everything in our power to support schools with high-quality remote education.

"These additional devices, on top of the 100,000 delivered last week, add to the significant support we are making available to help schools deliver high-quality online learning, as we know they have been doing.

"Our guidance reflects the increased number of hours pupils should benefit from, and schools publishing their plans lets parents know that their children are not missing out on the great education they deserve."

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