Children will be left behind

Many children from lower income families share a laptop with siblings and working parents, or live in a mobile phone-only household, or simply don’t have internet access at home at all. It’s unthinkable that these children, already the most educationally disadvantaged, should fall further behind as schools remain closed.

For that reason, The Good Law Project has to establish the right of every school-age child in England who is being taught remotely to a laptop or tablet and to internet connectivity in their home. The case will be crowdfunded and you can donate here.

The legal obligation to provide children with a suitable education falls on local authorities. But they were already operating on shoestring budgets long before the coronavirus lockdown. We want Government to help local authorities meet the needs of all children, and provide proper guidance to ensure that the most disadvantaged can access an education during this crisis.

We know that the coronavirus lockdown is difficult for us all. But we cannot afford to let a million children fall through the gaps.