9,000 Chromebooks secure trust-wide roll out of home learning

One of the largest, and most inclusive academy trusts in the country, has taken the decision to invest a total of £2m to purchase 9,000 additional chromebooks and data devices so that every child in the trust who is on free school meals, or who has an EHCP, is able to access their programme of digital learning throughout the current period of school closures.

The academy trust is already the single biggest user of the Google suite of digital learning tools in the state education sector, and has set up Google Classroom for all 32,000 pupils across its 58 academies.

The additional funds will mean that the trust will have a total of 16,000 devices, of which 1,500 are for staff. The remaining 14,500 are, in the first instance, prioritised for those pupils in receipt of Free School Meals or have an EHCP, representing around 25% of all pupils. The trust has 7,000 devices already, with a further 9,000 on order. The plan is for these devices to be available to pupils after Easter at the start of the summer term.

AET has been pioneering digital learning techniques for the last few years and prides itself on being one of the most tech-savvy education trusts in the country. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, and in addition to providing devices for children and staff, AET has been supporting its academies in a wide range of ways:

• Training available twice daily for all 5000+ staff on how to use Google tools so that learning can continue

• Creating 15 days of live streaming lessons for Years 5 and 6 and Year 10 and 11 in English and Maths

• Providing access to high quality teaching and learning resources online for all year groups

• A parent portal with access to the resources and guidance on how to support their children’s learning

• Providing Google Hangout support sessions for parents on home learning

• Establishing a virtual staffroom to support staff wellbeing

Julian Drinkall, Chief Executive of AET said:

“Until now Edtech was viewed by many as a luxury, but it’s clear today that it is a necessity. AET is fortunate in having some of the sector’s leading digital learning experts in-house, and so we’ve perhaps been more prepared than others have for school closures.

“But of course, you can have the best digital learning strategy in the world, the best content, and brilliantly trained teachers to deliver it, but if pupils can’t access it at home, then they will learn nothing. Being inclusive goes right to the heart of who we are at AET, and so we wanted to make sure that all our pupils can access home learning, regardless of their background.

“Having spent the last few years rebuilding AET’s finances from a low point of £8m annual deficits, we are now in a position to be able to invest some of our surpluses in new devices so that every child can access the education they have a right to.”