How the school laptops scandal let down teachers and pupils Schools across England are still struggling to gain access to the devices they need to continue teaching the poorest students. On 23 October, seven weeks into the autumn term, Stuart Guest logged into the Department for Education (DfE) s website to check the status of the laptops he had ordered for disadvantaged pupils at the primary school he runs in Birmingham. The number of devices earmarked for the school – 28 – was already lower than needed to support the pupils through any closures, but it was set to be cut further. As the site loaded, a message appeared on screen. You ve been allocated six laptops and tablets, it read. This allocation could change. If there are widespread school closures, we might reduce it.