One of the major conclusions that we have from the last eight months of schooling is that there is a digital divide between the haves and the have nots, but specifically applied to technology – Laptop, Chromebook or Tablets. The FT reports that as the current health situation deepens many schools are moving to the hybrid form of teaching: some pupils in class and some online, as part of a rota, and then reversing location. But the have nots struggle to follow anything online. According to the Children’s Commissioner, in the UK an estimated 9% of families do not have a device suitable for learning at home, but with attendance at school now down to 86% just over a week ago, there is a significant learning gap for tens of thousands of students that will be lost forever. The Government has apparently made available “more than 340,000 devices…to help disadvantaged children”, albeit we hope that this does include a provision for safeguarding solutions like Escudo Web´s All in One classroom management and filter solution, ensuring that children are safeguarded from inappropriate content.

https://www.ft.com/content/0bfd6484-08fa-4ec7-833b-ee42963a2d29