THE council is helping to ensure children without access to digital devices can continue to learn at home while schools are closed with equipment and £52,000 worth of data.

During the last lockdown Pembrokeshire County Council distributed £78,000 worth of equipment and mobile access

A delegated decision was made this week by cabinet member for transformation Cllr Neil Prior and the director of resources Jon Haswell to support around 500 devices loaned on a temporary basis.

Schools will be utilising existing iPads until pupils can return to school safely, with Welsh Government announcing yesterday that the closure will last until at least January 29 and could be until after February half term.

If a school does not have enough devices stock can be loaned from another school or topped up from the ‘Hwb Transformation Programme’ the printed decision, published on the council’s website on January 5, states.

“Connectivity is key to ensure children can access the necessary material via Hwb and an iPad does not solve the problem without access to the internet,” the report adds.

The council will therefore buy 500 4G MiFi devices at a cost of £52,000 for three months.