Millions of children left behind as digital divide widens

New research reveals that 57 per cent of low-income families say their child struggles to access devices or reliable internet outside school, severely impacting their education. 

For over a third of parents (34 per cent), schools simply assume this access exists, which could potentially widen inequality.
 
The research from RM Technology and the Digital Poverty Alliance is released on the third 'End Digital Poverty Day'. It shows that one in eight children (12 per cent) rely on smartphones to complete schoolwork, devices which are completely ill-suited for learning, while 15 per cent must share a single device with siblings or parents.
 
Worryingly, 11 per cent have little or no internet access at home, making remote learning almost impossible. Teachers are witnessing the consequences, with 75 per cent reporting pupils falling behind due to poor home access and nearly a third (31 per cent) noting a lack of basic digital skills among their students.
 
The long-term costs are immense, say the Digital Poverty Alliance. Closing the UK’s digital gap could unlock £17bn in annual earnings, deliver up to £6bn in better financial management and save nearly £1bn in government spending. Yet, right now, children without reliable devices or internet are falling behind their peers, teachers are struggling to deliver inclusive learning and schools are forced to diverse scarce resources to plug the gap.
 
Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance, commented: “Digital access is no longer a privilege, it’s a basic educational necessity. Every child, teacher and learner should have the tools and connectivity to participate fully in the digital classroom, yet millions are still being left behind.
 
End Digital Poverty Day is a national call to action for government, industry and the education sector to work together. This requires national policies that prioritise digital inclusion in schools, to large-scale device distribution initiatives, investment in digital skills training for teachers and pupils and ensuring technology is reused and recycled to benefit those most in need.
 
This must go hand-in-hand with delivering on the ambitions of the government’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan and ensuring further investment supports its goals so that no one is excluded from the digital society we all depend on.” 
 
In the lead up to End Digital Poverty Day, and throughout the day itself, organisations working at every level of digital inclusion are hosting a coordinated series of events. These include live webinars, skill-building workshops, roundtable discussions and educational sessions, both online and in-person, designed to share knowledge, build confidence and empower individuals and communities to get connected.