Question reference: S5W-32881
- Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
- Date lodged: 28 October 2020
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Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 November 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure equality of access to home learning across the country.
Answer
The Scottish Government is investing £25m to support digital inclusion amongst disadvantaged children and young people across Scotland so that they can stay connected to their learning, their teachers and their peers if they are unable to physically attend school. It is expected that up to 70,000 individuals will benefit from this investment.
In addition, we fund provision of the national online learning environment, Glow. Glow is comprised of a range of online tools and services such as Microsoft Office 365, Google G-Suite for Education and Wordpress Blogs and is freely available to all learners and teachers in Scotland.
Access to technology and online services is crucial but it is also of vital importance that relevant learning opportunities are available. Schools and practitioners know their learners best and are responsible for arranging learning including through the use of technology. Education Scotland, e-Sgoil, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, the Scottish Government and Regional Improvement Collaboratives are working in partnership to increase the support available nationally for e-learning. This National e-Learning Offer will complement the online learning already being successfully delivered by schools and teachers across Scotland and will comprise live, recorded and supported content.