Guidance

Get help with technology programme: conditions of device grants for technical support

Updated 4 February 2022

This guidance was withdrawn on 28 December 2023

This has been withdrawn as it is now out of date.

Read the latest from the Department for Education on the Get help with technology programme.

Applies to England

1. Introduction

Since the start of the pandemic, the government has distributed over 1.35 million laptops and tablets to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers for disadvantaged children and young people.

We announced on Friday 22 October that the Get Help with Technology (GHwT) service will provide an additional 500,000 laptops and tablets for children and young people throughout autumn and winter 2021 to 2022 to support their education and help keep them connected to peers and professionals.

Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, trusts, local authorities or further education providers who can lend these to children and young people who need them most.

Schools and other settings can apply for grants to contribute towards the technical support costs incurred in setting up and resetting devices received from the Department for Education (DfE).

Schools and other settings can claim for two types of grants:

• for costs incurred for purchasing technical support during the period 1 November 2021 to 14 January 2022 relating to resetting a DfE restricted device received in academic year 2019 to 2020 or academic year 2020 to 2021

• for costs incurred for purchasing technical support during the period 1 November 2021 to 14 January 2022 relating to setting up a device received from the DfE on or after 1 November 2021

These grants are intended to support organisations that may not currently have the capacity to set up and reset devices they received from GHwT. Restrictions and eligibility criteria are set out in the guidance. Restrictions include the types of devices received, types of technical support used and limitations on the maximum amounts that can be claimed.

Schools and other settings may also be able to apply for a grant relating to internet access costs as part of the same claims process.

1.1 Expiry or review date

This guidance will be kept under regular review.

2. Scope

These grant conditions relate to the allocation schools and other settings will receive to support the costs associated with setting up and resetting devices received from DfE:

• for costs incurred for technical support provided between 1 November 2021 to 14 January 2022 relating to resetting a DfE restricted device
• for costs incurred between 1 November 2021 to 14 January 2022 for technical support relating to setting up a device received from DfE on or after 1 November 2021

3. Eligibility

The following institution types will be eligible for this funding:

• mainstream academies and maintained schools
• 16 to 19 academies and maintained schools
• alternative provision academies, including hospital schools
• pupil referral units
• special academies and special maintained schools
• further education colleges and sixth form colleges
• special post-16 institutions
• independent training providers (where student places are funded via ESFA)
• non-maintained special schools
• local authorities

Institutions with publicly funded students over the age of 19 with an education, health and care (EHC) plan who also received free meals are also eligible.

As set out above, independent institutions (with fee-paying pupils and students) are not eligible for this funding.

Reference to schools, colleges and local authorities in the conditions of grant includes all institution types set out above.

We are providing this funding to support schools and colleges with the costs of setting up devices received from DfE, to continue to ensure safe use by children and young people.

4. Purpose and permitted use of device support funding

Device support funding must be used for the following purpose:

To set up devices received from DfE to be safe for children and young people to use, where a school or other setting does not already have the technical support capacity and capability to set up the device appropriately. To claim the device support grant, schools, colleges and local authorities must meet the conditions below:

General requirements

1. The setting must have received devices from DfE via the GHwT service, or have been granted ownership of devices provided by DfE to the original recipient organisation.

2. The devices that the technical support costs claimed relate to, must be ‘DfE restricted’ Windows devices distributed DfE in the summer term 2020 or in the 2020 to 2021 academic year and/or Windows devices received from DfE since 1 November 2021.

3. Settings that received unrestricted devices from DfE in academic year 2019 to 2020 or academic year 2020 to 2021 are not eligible to claim for technical support costs of setting up devices received from DfE on or after 1 November 2021.

4. Costs relating to other types of devices, including Chromebooks and Apple iPads, cannot be claimed for.

5. Invoices relevant to the technical support costs must be paid by the school, college or local authority. Payment must not be delayed solely in the expectation of the grant claim being approved.

6. If a claim is approved, schools, colleges and local authorities agree to respond to requests from DfE to evaluate the use and impact of the grant to meet the purpose set out above.

Value for money

1. Schools, colleges and local authorities must seek to achieve best value for money when sourcing technical support provision, utilising their own knowledge or guidance provided by DfE.

2. Schools, colleges and local authorities must source technical support provision in line with relevant requirements and guidance for their institution type regarding financial governance and procurement good practise.

3. Schools, colleges and local authorities must ensure that the technical support provider used is appropriately qualified (for example, through Microsoft certification or other relevant industry accreditation) to carry out the work necessary to set up devices to be used safely.

4. Technical support costs claimed for must only relate to the use of an appropriately qualified professional service which the school is charged for (whether as an external commercial provider or internal costed service).

5. Costs cannot be claimed where the support provider is not professionally qualified and/or is providing support on a free/voluntary basis and/or where there would not normally be a cost incurred by the school, college or local authority for their support.

Required record keeping

1. Schools, colleges and local authorities must keep receipted records of technical support costs relating to eligible devices and incurred from 1 November 2021. These must be kept available for attaching to the grant claim, an inspection, either as part of a spot check on connectivity expenditure or as part of an audit.

2. Schools, colleges and local authorities must provide information, as may be required by the Secretary of State, to determine whether they have complied with these conditions.

5. Maximum claim calculations

The maximum amount that a school can claim up to is:

• for DfE restricted devices - up to £35 per device that has not been reset before 1 November 2021

• for devices received from DfE on or after 1 November 2021 - up to £25 per device

The amount claimed must be inclusive of any applicable VAT, unless relief is available elsewhere.

Claims can be aggregated, for example where support is charged on a daily or hourly basis, however the maximum amount that will be paid will be the equivalent of the per unit costs set out above.

Example 1: Day rate costs

Number of DfE restricted devices claimed for - 20

Maximum grant claim allowed - £700 made up of 20 devices x £35 per device

If the cost of technical support was £600 (e.g. made up of 2 days support at £300 per day), the amount claimed would be fully met as within the maximum claim amount.

Example 2: Bulk charge for support

Number of devices received after 1 November claimed for - 20

Maximum grant claim allowed - £500 made up of 20 devices x £25 per device

If the cost of technical support was £800 (for imaging 20 devices), a maximum of £500 would be paid towards the technical support costs

Where the number of devices claimed for exceeds the number of devices we have recorded as being received by the school, college or local authority, we may request further information (for example, confirmation that devices have been gifted by the original recipient) and we may limit the claim amount or reject the whole claim.

6. Payments

A one-off payment will be made to schools, colleges and local authorities, with payments being made retrospectively and based on information reported through the grants platform.

For technical support costs incurred since 1 November 2021, we anticipate making payments at the end of March 2022 to eligible settings.

Payments will be made directly to colleges, academies, local authorities, and non-maintained special schools. Local authorities must pass payments on to maintained schools.

7. Variation

These conditions of grant may be altered at any time. Participating institutions will be notified of this through existing channels.

8. Recovery of funding

This funding is being provided under section 14 of the Education Act 2002, section 14 of the Education Act 2002 and section 100(1) of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 and we reserve the right to audit the expenditure. We will seek to recover any funding that has been paid in error.

This includes overpayment where an institution has claimed for more than their allocation.

Recoveries will be made by invoice or by offsetting the amount against subsequent payments due from DfE. The recipient must notify DfE immediately through the ESFA enquiry form where it becomes aware of any instance of error, suspected fraud or financial irregularity in the use of the funds.

9. Monitoring, assurance and data requirements

We have a responsibility to make sure that public funds are properly managed in line with these grant conditions. We reserve the right to request assurance of this grant funding and will provide further details as necessary.

10. Further information

Books, other documents and records relating to the recipient’s accounts shall be open to inspection by the Secretary of State and by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The Comptroller and Auditor General may, under section 6 of the National Audit Act 1983, carry out examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the recipient has used its resources in discharging its grant-aided activities.

Schools, colleges, and local authorities shall provide information as may be required by the Secretary of State to determine whether it has complied with these conditions.