EDUCATION bosses are stepping in to ensure that access to vital home schooling technology is not left in the lap of the gods.

The council has announced it will splash out an extra £527,000 to buy laptops, improve IT infrastructure and support families accessing technology for schoolwork.

This investment comes as parents brace themselves for part-time schooling after the summer holidays, following almost three months of a shutdown since coronavirus arrived.

The funding, agreed by the local authority’s emergency sub-committee, will mean 250 extra laptops can be purchased to support families and make improvements to wireless internet connections across the area’s secondary schools.

Council leader Stephen McCabe said: “When schools have been closed to pupils, except those in hubs, access to technology has been hugely important for families.

“Many people found that, because of the global nature of this pandemic, supply lines for new technology were stretched or even stopped.

“Now that we have access to technology, the council will be purchasing an extra 250 laptops to support families and our young people.

“While schools are scheduled to go back in August, the requirement for social and physical distancing will mean time learning at home so it is important that we are ahead of this in our planning on how we can support schools and families.

“We will be doing this through infrastructure improvements, new laptops and a new online platform to support our young people’s continued learning both in school and at home.”

The total package of spending will include over £400,000 improving wifi and technology across schools, £20,000 to purchase a new online resource and £100,000 to purchase 250 new laptops with headsets and associated wifi access.

News of the boost follows the announcement earlier this week that a separate sum of £230,000 will be pumped in to enable the free school meals service to continue during the summer.