Charity Warns Children Will Never Be Able To Engage In Digital Economy Unless More Action Is Taken

Digital Divide - No Signs Of Shrinking In UK Amongst Underprivileged

Children living in the poorest households in this country may never fully engage with the digital economy unless action is taken to ensure they have home access to the internet, warns the e-Learning Foundation, the UK’s only national charity dedicated to eradicating the digital divide for schoolchildren in the UK.

The comment is made in light of a recent Save the Children report that found 4 million children are living in poverty in the UK and 1.7m children are in “severe poverty”**, with 19% of all children in London falling into this category.  The report coincides with the release of the latest National Statistics Office’s Family Spending Survey figures.

“It beggars belief that in an age when technology is all pervasive , we still have to monitor the extent to which young learners have access to the Internet and a computer at home for their education,” explained Valerie Thompson, Chief Executive of the e-Learning Foundation.

“The figures from the recent government’s Family Spending Survey, covering 2008, suggest a staggering 2.2 million young people still cannot go online at home and 1.4 million do not have access to a computer at home. If more action is not taken many of these children will never engage in the digital economy and will fall further into the digital divide. If digital inclusion is to be supported properly then far wider issues must be addressed in getting disadvantaged families online or we as a nation will pay the consequences with a  large group of computer illiterate young people, unable to interact with society”.

“Time is fast running out to bridge the digital divide in this country, engage parents in their children’s learning and develop the whole family’s IT skills to broaden their horizons and help them out of the poverty trap,” concluded Thompson.

The e-Learning Foundation works with schools nationwide to set up equal opportunities based e-learning programmes in a bid to ensure that all children, regardless of their backgrounds, have access to a computer and the Internet for their studies at home as well as at school.

The e-Learning Foundation is also playing a key role in the government’s Home Access programme, launched this January, by supporting schools who are keen to help their families to successfully apply for their Home Access grant and purchase a computer and one year of Internet access. The programme will help 270,000 families in England.

“We are delighted to be playing a very active role in the government’s Home Access Programme.  This is a major step towards ensuring that all children have home access to a computer to support their education.  However, the job is far from being done and there is still much to do to get all children in low income families online,” concluded Thompson. “This is about social justice for our most vulnerable children. Small charities like ourselves very much depend on the generosity of donations from companies, individuals and trusts and grant making charities. The digital divide is still very much a reality in the UK and must not be forgotten in the charity funding stakes”.

Source:

National Statistics Office: Family Spending Survey 2007; published and covering 2008

Save the Children report: Measuring Severe Child Poverty in the UK: January 2010P:

Save the Children report ** - “Severe poverty” is defined as children living in households with incomes less than 50% of the UK median income and missing some basic possessions such as a winter coat or a bed.

About the e-Learning Foundation:

The e-Learning Foundation was launched in 2001, to ensure that every schoolchild in the UK should have access to learning technologies when and where they want to learn, and especially at home.

The Foundation, a registered charity, aims to bridge the digital divide and ensure that all children, irrespective of their background, can have the same access to technology for learning as their better off peers.

The Foundation is funded through the public, private and third sector in the form of Government grants, commercial sponsorship, grants and donations.

www.e-learningfoundation.com