Councillors warn against devices replacing teaching in schools

Highland Council has been asked for assurances that digital devices are not replacing teaching in its schools.

The local authority unveiled a plan 10 years ago to give every pupil in its area access to technology.

It later went on to provide laptops to pupils in P6 to S6, with the initial roll-out costing £6m, while P1-5 pupils share devices in classrooms.

Councillors Michael Gregson and Helen Crawford have asked the council to assess whether the current balance between digital and non-digital learning is appropriate.

In a motion to next week's meeting of the full council, the councillors said educational technology could benefit learning.

But they added there was "growing evidence" that excessive reliance on digital devices could hinder children's mental processes.

The councillors also said brain activity was enhanced by the physical act of handwriting as opposed to typing on a keyboard.

They said any assessment done should reflect the views of staff, parents, carers and pupils and make recommendations to ensure digital technology "complements, rather than replaces, high-quality teaching and learning".

Two other councillors, John Finlayson and Drew Millar, have put forward an amendment suggesting head teachers work with staff to "plan, monitor and review" pupils' use of devices.

Last week, a group of more than 150 clinicians warned the amount of time children in England spend on screens at school could be harming their "physical and developmental health".

The GPs, paediatricians and other specialists said tablets and laptops were being used without a full understanding of their long-term health impacts, including on eye health.

Earlier this year, Sweden's government said it was putting a renewed focus on physical books, paper and pens in classrooms to reverse falling literacy levels.

But the move has drawn criticism from tech companies, educators and computer scientists.

Laptops became mainstream in Swedish classrooms in the late 2000s and early 2010s. By 2015, around 80% of pupils at municipal state-funded high schools had individual access to a digital device, according to official data.