We are 6 weeks in lockdown and I wondered why my local school in Tottenham, London didn’t provide online homework or live zoom classes like other schools - I was shocked with the reply I received from my school - 50% of pupils have either no access to WIFI or a laptop.

Please read the following article:-

'Digital poverty' in schools where few have laptops
By Sean CoughlanBBC News family and education correspondent.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52399589

Extract from above article:- 

“"In our schools, 60% to 70% of children wouldn't have laptops," says Wayne Norrie, head of an academy trust with schools in disadvantaged areas.

With schools closed and pupils studying online at home, he says, it is important to recognise the social gap in access to technology.

"Coronavirus has revealed the scale of the digital divide," he says.

The Co-op Academies Trust is providing 1,000 computer devices across its 24 schools.

Chris Tomlinson, who chairs the trust, says online lessons are "no good if the children don't have the necessary hardware to access the internet".

The AET academy trust is providing 9,000 laptops for its 58 schools, one for all pupils on free school meals.

The current lockdown has turned technology into an educational necessity rather than a luxury, said the trust's chief executive, Julian Drinkall

Robert Halfon, chair of the education select committee, says too often there are assumptions about access to broadband and up-to-date computers.

As an MP, he says he deals with constituents who have to weigh up the cost of data before sending emails or getting information online.

He suggests educational programmes could be put on free-to-air television to reach those not online.

The lockdown and the closure of schools has "brought the digital divide to the forefront".”

**Free to air education programs on TV for all school children**