Nearly a fifth of headteachers have had laptops provided to their pupils by the government that have not worked as required, a Tes survey shows.

Headteachers reported that they’d had to wait weeks for help with the laptops supplied by the Department for Education, some of which had to be rebuilt in school, weren’t set up properly or came without a charger.

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And others said the devices were slow to use or locked. Several complained of “poor quality”.

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Of the 417 heads who responded to the question: “Of the laptops that have arrived, have they all worked as required?”, nearly a fifth (18 per cent) said “no”.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “This is a very worrying finding and it just isn’t good enough if schools are receiving laptops which don’t work properly.

“Our impression had been that generally the laptops received are good quality, and we really do hope that there isn’t a trend developing here of problems with devices. We would encourage schools to report any difficulties to the DfE so this can be sorted out.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “Our data shows that less than one per cent of the devices delivered by the department this academic year have been sent back in exchange for a new device, or had a manufacturer’s issue when sent. Every single laptop that we provide meets a set of minimum specifications set to enable children to learn remotely.

“We are fully committed to helping children access a high-quality education while learning from home, and refute any suggestion that implies otherwise.”