Concerns raised over digital exclusion for disadvantaged Fife pupils

Conservative councillor Kathleen Leslie, who represents Burntisland, Kinghorn and Kirkcaldy West and is education spokesman for the Conservatives at Fife Council, has asked why these laptops were not issued at the start of lockdown and she has also questioned why the local authority has not held an education and children’s services committee since February to allow elected representatives to discuss and scrutinise plans.

But a spokesman for Fife Council said where access to an IT device or connectivity has been a barrier, alternative approaches have been put in place to provide learning materials for pupils.

And the spokesman said a small number of committee meetings have taken place remotely and for any that didn’t go ahead, decisions were made under delegated powers with the involvement of the relevant conveners.

Cllr Leslie said: “Following the admission by the Scottish Government that none of the 25,000 laptops had been issued to pupils I have established that of the 53,000 pupils in education here in Fife there are around 5,000 – 6,000 pupils who have limited access to devices for home learning.

“That is horrific. Schools closed their doors in March meaning that when they reopen in August some children will have had little or no education for six months. We are at risk of a whole generation of children being failed. This is simply unacceptable. Why were these laptops not issued at the start?

“The Deputy First Minister has repeatedly claimed that reducing the poverty related attainment gap is a defining mission of his Scottish Administration.

“Yet, here we are nearly four months after pupils stopped attending school and a huge number of Fife’s children have not been home learning. I had one parent tell me that he has no laptop at home and two children in education. He attempted to use his ‘phone to access lessons and eventually gave up. How many other children around Fife are like that?

“This is simply unacceptable and given that blended learning is still potentially on the table for August, this must be addressed now. Fife Council needs to know how many laptops it will receive, how these will be issued to pupils and what will be done for any pupils who do not receive one and also may have limited internet access at home.”

She claims the situation has been made worse by the education and children’s services committee not having met since February: “It is quite astounding that when I speak to colleagues in other local authorities around Scotland, there have been a whole host of meetings, particularly in regards to education,” she said.

“Fife Council has not believed it necessary for representatives, elected by the people, to be given the opportunity to discuss and scrutinise plans afoot. Perhaps it is the case that the SNP-Labour coalition is averse to any scrutiny?”

Councillor Fay Sinclair, convener of Fife Council’s Education and Children’s Services, said all of Fife’s schools have been working with families to support them to engage in learning throughout these unprecedented times.

She said: “Where access to an IT device or connectivity has been a barrier, our schools have put alternative approaches in place to provide materials for learning at home.

“We have issued over 800 devices to children and young people and in some cases connectivity solutions have also been put in place.

“We continue to work with the Scottish Government on the distribution of the £1.8m we’ve been given by them to support connectivity and make sure that those who need devices will get them at the start of the new term.”

“In relation to committees, as per the guidance to minimise travel and stay at home, a small number of committee meetings took place remotely and for any that didn’t go ahead, decisions were made under delegated powers with the involvement of the relevant Conveners, Vice- Conveners and a cross-party member stakeholder group.”

She added: “Education matters, including the re-opening of schools, were discussed with elected members, parents and staff at every stage possible. A report also went to our policy and co-ordination committee at the end of June.”

Meanwhile a Scottish Government spokesman said local authorities and schools have put a range of approaches in place to tackle digital exclusion such as repurposing school IT equipment and providing internet connectivity.

The spokesman said: ““We are also investing £9 million for 25,000 laptops – with internet access provided – for disadvantaged children to support learning outside school. This is the first phase of our £30 million commitment to support digital inclusion. We expect the initial 25,000 devices will be with learners who need them at the start of the new term.

“The Scottish Government recently launched Connecting Scotland with £5 million funding to reach 9,000 people on low incomes who are digitally excluded and at high or extremely high risk from coronavirus (COVID-19). These people are being provided with devices, connectivity and training. More than 540 people have already received this package, including 200 families with children.

“We expect that more than 4,000 devices will have been received by 31 July, with the remainder during August.

“We also recently awarded a grant of £112,500 to mentoring charity MCR Pathways to provide continued support to disadvantaged young people through the provision of digital devices and connectivity.”

The spokesman added: “In addition, we have ensured that local authorities and schools have flexibility to redirect Attainment Scotland Funding to help support disadvantaged families during the pandemic. In some cases, that has meant providing digital devices to support learning at home.”

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