Legal Action Threatened Over Children’s Lack of Access To Necessary Technology for Remote Learning

Remote learning has become commonplace during the coronavirus pandemic as governments try to slow the spread of the disease.

However, some people are questioning how well this is actually working for students.

Learning from Home Amid COVID-19 

Schools around the U.K. are expected to remain closed at least through the February half-term.

While some students, such as those who are “vulnerable” or who require hands-on learning will be allowed to attend class in person, the majority will be working remotely from home.

In many cases, A-levels and GCSE assessments have been cancelled; some vocational exams are expected to take place as planned.

Meanwhile parents are scrambling to make arrangements with their employers for while their children are home from school.

Legal Action Threatened Over Remote Learning 

Campaigners with the Good Law Project say “parents should not have to choose between the education of their child and their family’s health.”

They took legal action in April 2020, reportedly saying the government doesn’t increase efforts to ensure all children have access to remote education during COVID-19 lockdowns.

The organization says ministers have forced low-income children, Asian, Black, and other minority ethnic children to attend school despite the pandemic because of a lack of digital devices.

The government defines vulnerable children as those “who may have difficulty engaging with remote education at home” because of a lack of quiet space or devices, according to The Northern Echo.

While these children are encouraged to attend school even during lockdown, parents who choose to keep their kids at home are not penalised.

The Good Law Project said it withdrew its legal action after the government assured the group laptops and routers would be provided to these children — but hundreds of students are still going without the necessary technology for remote learning.

Getting Devices to Pupils

The Department for Education (DFE) is reportedly expected to deliver 100,000 laptops this week, with 50,000 of those sent to schools Monday for distribution.

The Good Law Project says the education secretary has ordered 1 million laptops; however, only 560,000 have been delivered.

The organisation says even when the rest are delivered, many children will still be without the technology necessary for remote learning.

According to the Office of Communications (Ofcom), 1.7 million children in the U.K. do not have devices, and about 880,000 are in homes with a mobile-only internet connection, the Good Law Project says.

Because of these shortcomings, the Good Law Project has asked for a judicial review to force the government to address the following concerns:

• To ensure the appropriate devices are provided in a timely manner.
• To issue new guidance allowing children to attend school in person due to a lack of devices or access to data, as a last resort.
• To ensure educational websites are exempt from data charges and to more generally address such charges related to home learning.
• To conduct assessments of the effects of the school closures on disadvantaged pupils and create contingency plans and “mitigating measures.”

The Good Law Project cites data from the National Federation for Educational Research that indicates pupils lost an average of three months of learning during the first lockdown. However, that same research also indicates pupils at schools in the most disadvantaged areas lost at least four months’ worth of learning.

Are your children attending school in person or learning remotely this term? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

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