Upholding the right to education

"If teaching online is to replace that in classrooms, children must have access to laptops or tablets and to the internet.” - Jolyon Maugham QC, director of the Good Law Project. 

The Education Act 1996, supported by the Human Rights Act, the Equality Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, establish access to education as a legal right.

The Good Law Project is making a crowdfunded case to ensure that councils provide all children with access to the internet and laptops they need to continue their education. 

If it finds Local Authorities to be in breach of the Education Act then it intends to force the government to help councils meet the cost of provision for all children. 

Lawyers will write to one inner city local authority today on behalf of a group of children who are unable to access online education.

The organisation will also write to the secretary of state for education asking him to set out his plans for the summer term as Local Authorities are operating without clear guidance from the government on access to online resources for the most disadvantaged children. 

The Guardian notes that research published by Ofcom in 2018 suggested that as many as a million children and their families did not have adequate access to a device or connectivity.

There has been widespread concern over the  impact of school closures on the vulnerable and poorer students.

Our recent blog on online learning notes a survey by TeacherTapp found that only 40% of those in state schools would be able to broadcast a video lesson, compared with 69% of teachers at independent schools. 

Teach First and the Institute for Public Policy Research have recently called on the government and technology companies to prioritise and provide digital access so that the current crisis does not exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities. 

This is a topic close to Equal Education’s core mission of reducing inequality in education and closing the attainment gap between those who are Looked After and SEND and all children.

Our dedicated tutors continue to work with pupils through online tutoring. We have also set up a technology supply centre through which schools and Local Authorities can request iPads to be delivered to those in need.