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Covid: More laptops for homeschooling children in Wales

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Some families do not have access to appropriate devices or internet access, a charity warned

More than 35,000 extra laptops will be provided to children in Wales as the government wants "no child or family left behind" with homeschooling.

It will mean 133,000 devices would have been given out since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic by Welsh Government to help children learn at home.

The initiative has been criticised and one charity has claimed means testing was denying some learners laptops.

Work has moved online with schools closing until at least February.

The Welsh Government said it has also worked with local authorities to provide 11,000 MiFi devices to help those without internet get online and 10,000 re-purposed devices to access online learning.

Schools graphic
Most children will learn from home until at least February half-term, unless there is a big drop in Covid cases

Its Hwb learning platform is receiving 50 logins a second, with more than one million page views a day.

However, Child Poverty Action Group in Wales criticised some aspects of the rollout, including the fact some schools were only offering help to children on free school meals.