“Get every child online,” Labour tells government amid school closures

Labour has called on the government to “get every child online and every school supported to deliver digital excellence” and put forward a plan to aid remote learning now that schools have closed to most children in the pandemic.

In a letter sent ahead of a statement by the Education Secretary expected in parliament later today, shadow schools minister Wes Streeting and shadow digital minister Chi Onwurah have demanded that the government:

• “Provide access to a device for every child who needs one;
• “Provide internet access for every child who needs it through rapidly expanding the ‘get help with technology programme;
• “Work to remove data charges by zero-rating educational websites and where possible ensure school digital delivery is exempted from mobile and other data packages, to stop mobile data charges from pricing disadvantaged families out of education;
• “Redeploy officials to help identify and meet technical support needs; and
• “Work with schools and pupils to deliver a guarantee of minimum contact time with teachers.”

Commenting this morning, Streeting said: “The government has had nine months since the start of the pandemic to tackle the digital divide in children’s learning, yet thousands of pupils are still unable to access online education.

“If ministers do not urgently adopt Labour’s proposals, the digital divide in access to education risks failing a generation.”

Ofcom has estimated that between 1.14 and 1.78 million children in the UK – 9% – have no home access to a laptop, desktop or tablet, and says that over 880,000 children live in a household with only a mobile internet connection.

The Department for Education told schools in October that their allocation of laptops, which the government had promised to ensure that their poorest and most vulnerable pupils could learn remotely, would be slashed by up to 80%.

Onwurah said: “Labour has continually warned about the dangers of the digital divide which risks leaving so many children and young people behind. The government has yet again failed to deliver on digital provision for those who need it most.”

The call from the shadow ministers today follows that of Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, who earlier this week urged Boris Johnson to address the digital divide that could hold back many pupils despite remote education being compulsory.

The MP for Mitcham and Morden organised a letter about the digital divide to be sent to the Prime Minister. It has been signed by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, former education secretaries, experts and dozens of backbench MPs.

The intervention by Labour this morning also followed the U-turn announced by Johnson on Monday, closing schools and colleges as he unveiled a third national lockdown for England. MPs will debate the new Covid restrictions today.

The measures introduced to halt the spread of the virus switched primary and secondary schools to remote learning as the Prime Minister conceded that they “act as vectors for transmission, causing the virus to spread between households”.

Labour-affiliated trade union UNISON has called on the government to also close nurseries to all except vulnerable children and those of key workers, warning that leaving them open “puts staff and communities at risk”.

Below is the full text of the letter sent by Labour to the government today.

Dear Oliver and Gavin,

Every child online Online, every school supported to deliver digital excellence.

With schools once again closing it is essential that children can continue with their education from home. We recognise the critical importance of reducing the spread of the new variant of Covid-19, but while children are forced to learn remotely it is vital that the government supports schools to deliver excellent online education which is accessible to all.

The closure of schools has a disproportionately negative impact on those who are already disadvantaged and lack the resources for effective online study. We have been calling on you to ensure every child has access to the digital devices and internet connections that are essential components of effective online education, together with support for schools and staff.

You have so far failed to do so. There are still up to 1.22 million children across the UK without access to the devices needed to learn online during this lockdown, robbing them of educational opportunities. Further, 7% of households have internet access only through a mobile device so much more must be done to ensure that children can access online learning without data charges.

As schools close again, we call on you to work together to urgently deliver a plan to get every child online and every school supported to deliver digital excellence.

This should include – though may not be limited to:

1. Access to a device for every child who needs one;
2. Internet access for every child who needs it, through rapidly expanding the provision of mobile dongles through the government’s ‘get help with technology’ programme;
3. Removal of data charges by “zero-rating” educational websites and where possible school digital delivery exempted from mobile and other data packages, to stop mobile data charges from pricing disadvantaged families out of education.
4. Redeploy officials to work with schools and colleges to identify and help meet technical support needs.
5. Work with schools and pupils to ensure the minimum daily hours of work pupils are expected to receive, also includes a guarantee for minimum contact time with their teacher.

Ten months after the first cases of Covid-19 arrived in this country, the government’s failure to deliver the digital resources that pupils need is damaging their educations and we cannot continue to let our young people down at this critical time in their lives.