Digital access was by far the most commonly mentioned barrier to accessing education for young children, and indeed for accessing any information, service or resource necessary for stability. There were three main barriers related to digital inclusion:
1) Devices
2) Data Poverty
3) Digital Literacy
The report also identified some positive aspects related to digital access, which are outlined at the end of this section.
The first major barrier to digital access was the possession of physical devices in the home. All participants, families, schools and organisations, reported that having a digital device was a necessity, ideally a tablet, chrome book or lap top.
Some families reported having a smart phone that was shared amongst multiple children, some organisations knew of families who did not even have a smart phone. Asylum seekers in particular were less likely to own digital devices given that they fled their homes, leaving behind possessions, and the weekly allowance of £40.85 is barely enough to cover food, clothing and toiletries, let alone saving up to buy electronics. In addition, one participant mentioned that there was a shortage of digital devices as suddenly everyone needed one, or people wanted to upgrade their existing devices to newer models, making it difficult to source laptops and tablets even for people who could afford to purchase.
Schools and organisations quickly understood the urgency of digital access and organised donations points where people could donate unwanted digital devices, and raised funds to buy new devices, for example COSS raised around £18,000 for devices and data. The regular outreach activities of the organisations also identified where there was a need for digital devices. Networks of volunteers were established to distribute laptops to people in need across the city. New Beginnings referred clients to British Red Cross to give out smart phones. Schools contacted families to ascertain who needed devices and were able to loan out, or in some cases give, laptops and tablets to families who needed it. Schools were able to apply for laptops from the Department for Education (DfE) for families on free school meals, and give these out. In addition, Asda had a campaign to give computers to schools. The efforts to ensure that all families had access to one, or in cases where families were larger, more than one laptop or tablet were commendable. Several of the families interviewed were the recipients of devices and described them as essential to accessing education, information and services during periods of lockdown.
The second barrier to digital access was the lack of data, or ‘data poverty’ as one participant put it. Asylum seekers do not receive Wi-Fi in their accommodation and, in the main, they do not have bank accounts, and are, therefore, unable to open a Wi-Fi account of their own. In addition, refugees tend to move house frequently (see barrier 7: Housing, food and clothing) and some participants reported delays in getting connected upon moving house, particularly during lockdown periods if engineers were needed to connect the new property to the internet. In addition, many of the places that people used to go to and access Wi-Fi, such as their local library or COSS, were closed during periods of national lock down, meaning that people who used to be able to connect to free Wi-Fi in such locations were no longer able to do so.
A potential way to overcome this is to use phone data or a mobile phone as a hot spot, however this is a costly way of accessing the internet and not possible for many asylum seekers who have such limited funds. In addition, using a phone as a hotspot relies on there being good signal.
One organisation spoke of a girl who used her phone to access lessons online from the grass outside her flat where she was able to get good signal. She then had to stop attending classes in September-October because she had a baby and was unwilling to take him outside when the temperatures dropped.
There were a variety of efforts from charities to raise money for data vouchers, Learn for Life ran a Crowdfunder and raised £2,000 for data alone, COSS raised around £18,000 for devices and data. However, data only lasts so long and the demand for it was so high that it was hard to keep up. A longer term solution is the National Data Bank, recently launched by the Good Things Foundation, which provides free data to people in need via their network of community partners. Another potential solution is that some schools reported having an excess of data vouchers, therefore it is recommended that a system be put in place for donating unused data cards to other families in need, even if they attend different schools.
The third barrier that participants talked about was digital literacy. The families who participated in this study had a range of digital skills: some had no experience at all, while others held formal qualifications in information technology, and one person even volunteers teaching digital skills to the elderly. Similarly, staff and volunteers in schools and organisations had a range of confidence and experience with digital devices. The complexity of doing things online spilled into every area of families’ stability, from accessing lessons in school, to accessing essential services or booking playgroups online. If the lessons, services and groups are not presented in a way that is easily accessible, that becomes a barrier.
Equally, if people do not have the digital literacy necessary to open a website, a zoom link or an email address, that is a barrier as the absence of face-to-face services during periods of lockdown meant that the majority of information and support was online. Indeed, even though things have opened up again, many services have seen the benefits of offering online support rather than face-to-face, and have maintained online provision.
Several organisations identified the need for digital literacy improvement, and offered participants training. The Good Things Project delivers training through its partner community organisations. Learn for Life runs courses on digital skills. Indeed, Learn for Life went one step further and created a booklet of Zoom instructions that was translated into many languages. The booklet was printed out and distributed with the digital devices, or sent as an attachment when someone newly enrolled via email. In addition, Learn for Life created WhatsApp groups with people who spoke the same language and had more understanding of digital skills so that they could explain how to do things.
Some organisations spoke of the benefits of continuing to do certain things online, for example, Family Voice provide an English for Driving Theory course, and, given that some level of IT skills is a prerequisite to passing the Driving Theory Test, they have taken the decision to keep that online. In addition, Family Voice, Learn for Life and other organisations mentioned that being online increased their capacity to include people who do not live in the immediate vicinity of their geographical location. In addition, some people struggle to attend classes in person for a variety of reasons, whether that be caring duties or difficulties leaving the house, therefore providing things for families to access online meant that people who might not otherwise have been able to attend are suddenly able to. Once the challenges of digital access had been addressed, the creativity and variety of activities that people accessed online was astonishing, as shall be discussed in the following sections.