DfE Laptops Scheme

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DfE Laptops Scheme

DfE Laptops Schemes

Laptops for 'Children with a Social Worker' scheme

In Summer 2020, DfE (the central government Department for Education) provided Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) with loan laptops to distribute to identified children and young people with a WBC social worker. In a few cases loan 4G wireless routers were also provided.
The laptops were intended to support children and young people to continue with learning at home whilst Covid 19 was having an impact on teaching and learning.
The majority of the laptops mentioned above remain on loan to the young people.

Wokingham Borough Council are continuing to provide a level of support for them for the time being through local company Waterman Solutions. Families, young people, social workers or schools that were allocated a laptop or 4G router under this scheme can access support from Waterman Solutions by email support@watermansolutions.co.uk or by phone 0118 324 1133 during office hours Monday to Friday.
In order to raise a support call with Waterman Solutions, you will need to provide the serial number of the laptop/tablet (or the IMEI number of the 4G router) so that Waterman know it is a genuine request relating to this scheme.
Most of the laptops were set up to be managed centrally by DfE's contractor. That central management is currently due to end on 30 September 2021. We will provide more information on this page about the arrangements after that date.
4G routers are provided with a monthly data allowance which is currently due to end around July 2021.

DfE Year 10 Laptop Scheme

DfE also provided a small number of laptops/4G routers for Year 10 students in Summer 2020. If there are any queries about those devices, please contact your school in the first instance, or Waterman Solutions otherwise.

DfE 'Get help with technology' (Laptops for schools) scheme

In another DfE scheme, most schools and academies were provided with allocations of laptops in Autumn 2020 and Spring 2021. these allocations were made directly to schools and weren't managed by Wokingham Borough Council.
Please note that any laptops supplied by DfE direct to schools are not supported by Waterman Solutions. Any queries regarding these laptops should be raised with the school or academy.

Key documents for the DfE 'Children with a social worker' scheme

I cannot login to my Windows laptop – it is asking for the password for a user called .\localadmin and I don’t know it

Please refer to the printed document that came inside the laptop box and the user guidance document linked above. The correct username to use is .\localuser (including .\ at the beginning as shown).

Why can’t I access some websites or download some programs I want?

The laptop is provided on loan to you in order to help you access remote learning/home learning relating to the Covid 19 situation. Most laptops are centrally via a DfE contract with the supplier which includes the provision of web filtering and device management to keep you safe. If the settings on your laptop cause significant problems with your school work, please contact your school or Waterman Solutions as above.

I cannot find any Office/word processing programs on the laptop

The laptop can be used to access the Office apps online via a school Office365 account, if available, or using the free Office online option. Both of these can be accessed at www.office.com by signing in with your school Office365 username and password or with a personal Microsoft account. Or your school may provide you with a login for Google G Suite for Education to access Google online tools such as Google classroom, Google Drive and Google Docs. Contact your school to find out what is available for you for remote learning. If the above doesn't solve your issues, please contact your school or Waterman Solutions as above.

I no longer need the laptop/4G router - what should I do with it?

If you no longer need your laptop and/or 4G router, queries, please contact your school or Waterman Solutions to ask how you should return it. It can then be allocated to another young person that would be able to make use of it.

I have another query that isn't covered above

Please read the 'DfE Children/Young people with a Social Worker Laptop Scheme - User Guidance' document linked above which provides some additional information. If you still have queries, please contact your school or Waterman Solutions - contact details above.