Education authorities will know next month how many computers they will be able to buy through the pound;100 million Laptops for Teachers scheme.
A catalogue of models and prices offered by accredited suppliers is due to be released on May 27. Councils will then be able to calculate the number of machines they can afford. The Department for Education and Skills is making pound;60m available in 20023 and pound;40m in 20034. It will be distributed on the basis of how many teachers work for each authority.
As the largest education authority, Kent has the largest grant - pound;2.73m over the two years. At the other end of the scale is the City of London with just pound;2,318.
Local authorities will have to decide how to allocate funds to their schools in “the most appropriate and fair way”. It is up to schools to decide which teachers get a laptop, although the DFES has said heads must get priority.
Jill Day, of Surrey County Council and a member of the computer advisers’ association NAACE, said schools would have to decide on their priorities and ensure decisions are not made in an ad hoc way.
A number of schools are expected to supplement the funding to buy additional laptops from the accredited suppliers.
www.lft.ngfl.gov.uk
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