Dozens have expressed their view on the new Laptops for Teachers scheme, worth pound;100 million over two years.

Many teachers, like James Wright in Blackpool, welcomed the move and said that staff without access to computers were “clearly disadvantaged, as are the pupils in their care”.

But Claire Hampson of Northallerton said laptops would only be useful if supplemented by other equipment, such as interactive whiteboards. “Otherwise they will just be used for making pretty worksheets,” she said.

The laptops will be owned by schools. One teacher from Brighton believed a continuation of subsidies to help individual teachers buy their own computer would have been preferable.

Another teacher, from Oundle, has already been given a laptop by her school. She said that it had not made her a better teacher, but had made planning and administration simpler and much faster, “thus I can concentrate on the teaching a little more”.

Terry Oginni of London summed up the disappointment felt by teachers who will miss out: “Why should teachers have to compete for a basic tool of the trade in this present digital age?” The scheme only applies to England, prompting a Pembrokeshire teacher to ask why the Welsh were missing out.

A Welsh Assembly spokesperson said councils had “considerable flexibility” on how to deploy ICT funding and balance the needs of both pupils and teachers.

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