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<p>As part of over £195 million invested to support remote education and access to
online social care, over 340,000 laptops and tablets are being made available this
term to support disadvantaged children in Years 3 to 11 whose face-to-face education
may be disrupted.</p><p>This supplements over 220,000 laptops and tablets and over
50,000 4G wireless routers, which have already been delivered during the summer term.
This represents an injection of over 500,000 laptops and tablets by the end of the
year.</p><p>Where Windows laptops and tablets are ordered with a Department for Education
build, they will come with content filtering and device management software, just
as with the laptops and tablets we distributed earlier this year. This filters out
web content that might be inappropriate or illegal for children. The Department took
advice from the Chief Information Security Officer, external security consultants
and the National Cyber Security Centre, ensuring devices are safe and secure for children.</p><p>Schools
can choose to order a Windows device without a Department for Education build. If
this option is selected it is the responsibility of the local authority, academy trust
or school to ensure appropriate safeguarding, security and privacy of the device before
it is lent to the child. In addition, links to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection
website and advice on using the internet safely are pre-loaded onto the laptops and
tablets.</p><p>The 4G wireless routers provided include active content filtering services,
which prevent users of the laptops and tablets from accessing types of content that
pose risks to children.</p><p>Keeping children safe online is essential and we all
must play our part as we continue our response to COVID-19. Schools and colleges must
continue to pay regard to the statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe
in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare
of children – both online and offline. The revised Keeping Children Safe in Education
guidance, which came into force on 1 September, includes additional information and
support to help schools and colleges keep children safe online. It includes for the
first time a dedicated collection of resources to support safe remote education, virtual
lessons and live streaming. It also includes support for schools and colleges to signpost
parents and carers to help them keep their children safe online. The guidance is available
here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2?utm_source=936e83f0-b458-4d7d-82cd-3ce68cde0fdf&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2?utm_source=936e83f0-b458-4d7d-82cd-3ce68cde0fdf&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate</a>.</p><p>The
Department’s guidance for full opening of schools includes signposting to resources
to support the delivery of safe remote education and is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools</a>.</p><p>Training
and guidance from the EdTech Demonstrator Network on ways to keep pupils safe online
is also available for all schools.</p>
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