Charity leaders and MPs link up to tackle digital divide among pupils during lockdown

Charities have partnered with MPs to urge the government to ensure all children have access to the technology needed for effective remote learning as schools close due to Covid-19 restrictions.

As part of a national lockdown in England announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday, schools will be closed for most pupils.

Children across England are to be taught remotely at home amid fears around rising rates of Covid-19 infection.

In a letter to secretary of state for education Gavin Williamson, the government is being called on to “urgently ensure that every child away from school has the data and device that they need to log in and learn from home”.

This letter, which has been written by Labour MP Siobhan McDonagh and signed by among others the Sutton Trust and Child Poverty Action Group, adds that the Covid-19 lockdown has “exposed the digital divide” among the 9% of children without access to laptop, desktop or tablet.

Our urgent letter calling on @BorisJohnson to ensure that every child away from school has the data and device required to log in at home.

Because no child's education should be dependent on their internet connection.#DigitalDivide #Teachers #Schools pic.twitter.com/RYZqogHB8f
— Siobhain McDonagh MP (@Siobhain_Mc) January 4, 2021

Regulator Ofcom estimates 1.78m children could be impacted by lack of access to remote learning technology.

The letter adds that digitally excluded pupils “were likely to be behind their peers even before the pandemic”.

Action required, according to the letter, includes collecting a register of which children are without technology or connectivity “and a clear plan for how they will quickly receive this”.

Also signing the letter is Sharon Davies, chief executive of the charity Youth Enterprise, and Sarah Atkinson, chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation , which supports teenagers and their families.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is among other signatories. The chair of the education select committee Robert Halfon and Caroline Lucas are among MPs to sign the letter.

This is the latest charity sector lobbying effort to ensure young people are being supported amid the pandemic. In November, a coalition of youth charities and voluntary sector umbrella bodies called on the government to honour a Conservative Party general election manifesto commitment to create a £500 Youth Investment Fund.