New licensing deal means that state school students will continue to be able access Microsoft 365 for free through learning platform Hwb
The Welsh government is continuing to invest in developing people’s digital skills, by extended a scheme to help learners both at school and at home.
Photo by Tadas Sar / Unsplash
A new licensing deal announced today means that all learners and teachers at Welsh state schools will continue to benefit from free access to Microsoft 365 at school and at home. The annual cost of a personal licence for Microsoft 365 is £84.99, so free access is a considerable saving.
Access is provided via the digital learning platform Hwb.
The pioneering initiative to help learners develop key digital skills was launched in 2019 – when Wales was one of the first countries to provide such support for students. Since then, more than 1,450 schools and more than 122,000 families have benefited from the scheme.
As well as providing access to software, the Hwb programme has funded more than 320,500 devices – including laptops – being provided to learners.
Lynne Neagle MS, Cabinet Secretary for Education, says: ‘We were one of the first countries to invest in this way to support access to Microsoft 365. Building on this work, we are once again able to fully fund access for schools. This year we have invested £12m in schools’ digital provision, and are fully committed to enhancing schools’ digital environments, with £167m invested since 2019. This includes providing devices for learners and practitioners to ensure equity of access to digital technology.
‘Having one agreement funded by Welsh government demonstrates the commitment to digital equity and inclusion for our learners and help to ease the financial pressure on schools, enabling them to maximise the benefits of digital technology in education. Many learners already benefit from this agreement, but I want to raise awareness that these digital services are freely available for learners and teachers to use at home.’
Of course, the initiative helps to tackle digital exclusion. As Jo Lovell, Director of Inclusive Communities at Cwmpas, told us in 2023, ‘To be digitally included you need: the skills and confidence to get online and engage safely, a device, connectivity (fixed/mobile), and support.’
But the scheme is also part of wider efforts to invest in tech to boost the Welsh economy. Just last week, we reported on the Welsh government’s latest statement on its ongoing work to investigate the potential of AI to improve public services.
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