Ongoing work to help children and young people develop digital skills that will benefit them now and in the future has been praised.
Our work to embed digital learning in our curriculum benefits attainment and pupils’ engagement in learning while supporting future industry.
Members of East Lothian Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee heard that upgrades to school IT infrastructure had been carried out to offer safe, high speed online environments to support increased digital usage. This includes advanced filtering technologies and up to a ten-fold increase in internet speeds.
Individual Chromebooks for secondary pupils
The local authority is in the process of introducing individual Chromebooks to every secondary school pupil. Roll-out has been completed at three secondary schools (Dunbar Grammar School, Knox Academy and Musselburgh Grammar School) with North Berwick High School currently underway. All secondary schools will be completed by the end of this academic year.
Committee also heard that primary schools have seen a rise in device numbers from one laptop to five pupils, to one-to-two. No external funding has been received for the increase which has been funded through existing East Lothian Council budgets and careful device management.
Increasing teachers' skills and confidence
The council’s updated Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy highlights ongoing support for teachers to increase their own skills and confidence, and to embrace digital technologies in the curriculum. The strategy has four areas of focus: Digital Literacy of staff, Infrastructure, Digital Learning and Teaching and Digital Distance Learning.
East Lothian Council’s Head of Education Nicola McDowell said: “Increasing availability of technologies removes barriers to access, helps pupils to learn in a way that suits them best and is a better reflection of our digitally-enabled world. This, coupled with our work to embed digital learning in our curriculum, benefits attainment and pupils’ engagement in learning while supporting future industry.”