If only all kids could be left to their own devices
AFEW days ago my son was robbed of his phone. One moment he was standing waiting for the bus to work, the next, two little horrors on bikes swept past and stole it from his hand.
He gave chase but lost them into a dark estate and, mindful of the level of knife crime in his city, backed off. It was, after all, only a phone.
Except, like many of us, his world is on it. Photos and contacts and diary dates, apps to keep in touch, apps to check the news, even an app to monitor his blood sugars.
Its theft was hugely inconvenient and, of course, hugely expensive. He is in his first job and draws an entry level salary.
Fortunately he has us, his mum and dad, who are both still in work and who can afford to help him cover the cost of a replacement.
But what of the kids who can’t replace a lost phone? Or who don’t have one in the first place? Or a laptop for that matter? Or any kind of digital device to provide them with access to the outside world?
Many of us – me included – take for granted the computers and laptops, iPads and phones we have in the house.
When our kids are home the place looks like Currys. But it’s not like that for everyone.
Not having internet access or data is a disadvantage at the best of times but in a pandemic, with so many schools closed and the accent firmly on remote learning, it’s a disaster.
We are now 10 months into the Covid crisis in the UK yet 1.5 million pupils across the country still have no way of accessing any kind of digital device on which they can learn at home.
This comes on top of an education already massively disrupted last year by the virus with no real sign of a return to normality in the classroom anytime soon.
Inevitably, these will be kids living in disadvantaged areas, with parents struggling harder than ever to make ends meet and put food on the table.
Educational outcomes are already skewed against those with the least.
Lack of ability to access the internet and join their peers in online classes is just another hammer blow to life chances, another brick in the wall of inequality.
So what to do? Well, send the kids into school, of course, where there are computers and a chance for them to keep up with their education.
But that means in some of the poorest areas of our country schools remain largely open, even though we are in the middle of a global health emergency.
These are deprived communities already among the most vulnerable to the health impact of the pandemic.
The future data, in terms of which areas suffered the most from Covid deaths, will I suspect make grim but unsurprising reading.
Meanwhile, I heard an appeal on the radio asking anyone with spare devices to donate them to schools.
It’s a lovely idea but educating our kids shouldn’t be reliant on acts of charity.
The Health Secretary, Gavin Williamson, says schools in England will receive a further 300,000 laptops imminently. In Wales a further 60,000 are expected.
But there have been allegations of ‘means testing’ of families to see if they are eligible.
And even though the numbers look big, it’s still not enough.
Once again, people who have the least seem to suffer the most.
Those in power need to up their game and fast. Otherwise we risk a divide in the next generation that will take decades to bridge.