Our family had a good transition to online learning when schools closed in March. My 15-year-old moved seamlessly to online learning via Microsoft Teams with a school-issued iPad and a full timetable. My 11-year-old, having dodged the SATs, moved to Google Classroom and spent an hour a day on schoolwork with his Dad’s old work laptop and several hours honing his Fortnite computer game skills. None of it was ideal, but it was straightforward and manageable.
However, our experience was far from commonplace. Inequality of access to online learning provision is widespread. The Department for Education estimates that 25 per cent of children have not engaged in any learning during the lockdown and the National Union of Students say one in five students do not have access to online learning.