To think school should realise not everyone has a computer?

[Iusemyphoneteach]

School have decided to set up an online learning system just in case there’s further lockdown. We’ve all had letters home this week telling us how to log on and telling us our children must have certain bits of homework done by Monday (downloaded and uploaded when completed) to prove we’ve accessed the system. The letters just seem to assume we all have computers to do this and there’s nothing in there about what to do if you don’t.

Obviously I’m going to have to embarrass myself and go into school to tell them we don’t have one so we can’t use the site at the moment until I’ve managed to get one but AIBU to think school should realise (especially in such a low income area) that not everyone has access to a computer and not everyone can magic access to one by Monday?

I understand why they’re setting it up and I think it’s great but it’s just the way they assume we can all do it. I know I won’t be the only parent in the same situation.

As above there is no need to be embarrassed and I’m sure you know by this point to speak to the school and they’ll help you. That being said it’s probably worth thinking about how your going to support your child in relation to their IT skills as they grow up. There is no getting around the fact that IT becomes a bigger part of education as they progress through education and it is a part of work life in one form or another for the vast majority.

@CheetasOnFajitas

All the people saying to OP “Just tell them!” - did you miss the bit in her OP where she says “ Obviously I’m going to have to embarrass myself and go into school to tell them we don’t have one so we can’t use the site at the moment?”

At no point did she say “”AIBU not to tell the school about this?”

Cancel the cheque too OP

No, I didn’t miss that bit, and I doubt others did either. They’re words of encouragement. OP has says she’s embarrassed to say it - and people are encouraging her to rip the plaster off and just do it. People are saying “just tell them!” to signal that it’s not something OP needs to be embarrassed about, and so just get on and do it - no need to worry. It’s a supportive chant.

Like when you go to a football match and shout, “come on! Get the ball, tackle him, shoot!” - it’s not because you think the footballers didn’t go on the pitch with no idea what to do

Schools will know a few might not have a tablet or computer but most do and online is the easiest way of sending out material if they need to go remote. Most households do, both our primary and secondary set homework online.

Just email the school from your phone and ask the plans for those without the tech.

Our school have stated they will NOT be providing chromebooks to loan for online learning this time around as they're needed for the classes in school (they loaned them all out last time).

I raised this with the school I'm governor at (although I'm stepping down mainly over how they've handled Covid) and got snarled at by the head that they'd sent an email out to check (the irony of this passed her by) and that they would provide paper work for those who contacted them... but it was done with such ill grace and complaining about printing costs I think parents were scared to take them up on it.

Other school had an online learning portal set up - but it required fairly modern devices to use and so a lot of families where they had a couple of iPads that worked OK to watch netflix on or send the odd email wouldn't run it. We ended up raking in our attic for our old computers and laptops to sort out for a few of my kids' friends to be able to get online.

You can get a perfectly good used PC off ebay for less than £100.

To all the people saying 'the school should provide' - from what money? Schools are completely broke. How are they expected to pay for hundreds of laptops for people to take home/not return/destroy?

Definitely ask the school. But getting a laptop/computer is something you need to consider for their future especially for secondary school. They will need one for their work/projects so it vital that you get one. Hopefully the school will be able to provide you with one.

Here you go OP. 60 quid. Comes with leads, mouse and keyboard. You will need a display but you can pick up a cheap monitor from a charity shop for a tenner:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FULL-DELL-HP-DUAL-CORE-DESKTOP-TOWER-PC-TFT-COMPUTER-SYSTEM-WINDOWS-10-4GB/282544152110?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item41c8f19e2e:g:2gUAAOSw3h1ZWicI&enc=AQAFAAACYBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickk7PdDazAlGltMLJlUhrWsD%2FZiDukHtgygmQpypjy0ksU3aQWoYVSzmaOM%2F4RW7Knz83KTlBayl5ffmR2rTcr7rkeW7FQ3n0jWevxMAnwaqtUO7NKQj2s%2FEqhyGD48lRAO9EUrQnIXv3pqqyjyDBPSH6hp%2FpooV5DXLA6amcMhWElCRu8j8hcS8FfxqaZ4%2BGeb4QxfuQuyf6cyoH%2Fv6ibrjhbCuAWLuR2JOhvkulBrHyDEPHZ2UWuFpIo%2FFaTz1DpOJTXmt2omVSH5J%2FJU53vRuGn9ZxjpDSpzxmFix2J6SticZgheIkT2q528Fgp3g36SvV276lcQ6lR5%2ByALN9yOCcCFdVozVL8tjT1Hi8i1GnTXxGheZZmO7VMXq6MtWGXZOoJcwMZNnyh%2FoMWyQIi8KSlzCqGl9XgXd7VHNW7VkOL7hBUiL2cXE8yyiSvVTcoRaaA31ZCxXzVCvZVRqUm2cXTmvY3E63AYv7eWOK4Wpa%2F5ylPh5e11xRlaad2X01jVLxB%2Fq%2F1Pmg1zDv5wXLEaZR%2BpOqVDizDIqaxHb4qrog3whQGEwHSPs8WJAp9pd8uSLNY4GCOoYGEg0JrltaETfFTcmFKBxJGHYTk%2Bm1U3Qsvd5Ev5UyF4KU%2BoUZcanesOEbEYN4SdiPB02KHindtawiOjZic%2FiFx4gRpIBlkwFgmAWmh7OkuYqi2rlKKhoZ1ZDDsSpcZY9DL8PHuM7lXYIDhsJYdHHvdTH9Mqv2WIrEDEgJRfBxbqEKKJ8pUH%2B1fj&checksum=2825441521107936c9be67204332b76aff547ff63ae2

Don’t be embarrassed, you won’t be the only one. Schools know families are struggling, my teacher friend was making up food parcels for her students.

My two only got their own laptops when they went to high school, as they didn’t need them at primary. But if this had happened when they were, I would have been in the same position as you.

Just before lockdown ds's old school (he was year 11 and has left now) sent a questionnaire asking what computers and devices the kids had access to and if any of those devices were shared with other family members.

We don't have a desktop computer. I have an ipad and dh has a macbook but his macbook contains specialist software for work (he is a lecturer and taught in real time all through lockdown. Me and ds have ipads but you cant do everything on those. Some kids only have phones/

Word is available on phones. If the school are using Microsoft teams it will come as part of the package.
I see what you mean about some children on a phone while others are on pc. But some children are in their own bedrooms on a study desk and others share with siblings and some live in B&B hostels. Schools can't fix this, the government won't fix this, all schools can do is provide what they can. But they definitely should ask families about their needs.

This is another scenario where some people will complain whatever the school does and however it does it.

This is another scenario where some people will complain whatever the school does and however it does it.

Pretty much, up to and including providing IT that is essential for the child's learning.

The government cannot provide everything unfortunately. There has to be a shared responsibility with the parents. And there are very few families who can't find £60 for essential school equipment.

Yes there really are plenty of families who can’t reallocate £60+ from the family budget plus pay for extra data
themoneycharity.org.uk/money-statistics/

www.turn2us.org.uk/About-Us/Our-Campaigns/Living-Without-Campaign/About-the-campaign

There are nearly 1m people who don’t have a fridge and nearly 2m without a cooker.

Yes there really are plenty of families who can’t reallocate £60+ from the family budget plus pay for extra data

I know. It is shit. I said there are very few people who can't afford these things, not that there are none; 1-2m people represents a few percent of the UK population. Who do you propose pays for their kids' computers?

And there are very few families who can't find £60 for essential school equipment.

Perhaps, over time. I know I’m fortunate because given time we will be able to save up and get something for dd to use. It’s the fact that we’ve had the initial letter, a reminder letter, and another little note yesterday all in the space of one week telling us we need to access this website and make sure this work is done prove we can get on the website. We never get that many letters about anything! And none of these letters has anything about what to do if you don’t have the equipment to access it or that there’s no rush if we haven’t got equipment to do it straight away. Not even a nice little “any problems, let us know” so that we feel a little bit less like scummy bottom dwellers for not being able do it straight away. It feels very pressured. Also, I know a lot of people will have just spent the last £60 on school uniforms and will still be recovering from that. Or maybe they don’t want to risk their last precious £60 they have on a possibly dodgy second hand eBay computer that’s been god knows where and been used by god knows who? Imagine spending that much and then it doesn’t work or is a fire risk or something?

I really appreciate all the replies btw. It’s interesting to see how differently schools are handling it and I do agree they can’t win no matter what they do. I just feel in this situation they should have asked if people could access the site rather than assuming or just put a little something in the letters to show they are aware we might not be able to and to not worry if we can’t straight away. We live in a deprived area so it’s not a stretch to imagine we don’t all have laptops to hand or tablets for the kids etc. I mean, I only have this phone because a million years ago when I wasn’t ill, a phone company let me have credit and I’ve carried on that contract, upgrading when the last one finally dies a death. If I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t have a smart phone either!

Or maybe they don’t want to risk their last precious £60 they have on a possibly dodgy second hand eBay computer that’s been god knows where and been used by god knows who? Imagine spending that much and then it doesn’t work or is a fire risk or something?

These kinds of computers on ebay are recycled and refurbished ex-business machines. They will have been used by someone in an office and are safe as houses. Office computers have a relatively short life span (they are updated every few years) so these will be new-ish and will have plenty of life in them. And they are sold by established companies so if they don't work you can return them and get another. They are not likely to burst into flames. I would sooner buy off these guys than PC World, who are a shower of unremitting cunts.

Honestly, if you care about your kids' education, spending £60 on a quarter-decent computer is just about the best investment you can make. It is quite likely they will need basic PC skills down the line (in particular the ability to type at a semi-respectable rate). There's also loads you can download in terms of free games, educational and otherwise.

I think the state should pay. I am really concerned about the social impact of the education divide building up due to COVID.

I am one of the “haves” (feel free to AS me) and can and did buy extra tech during lockdown as my DC were being taught on teams or zoom.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that there was a real disparity between the educational experience of the well off and the less well off during lockdown.

I'd be contacting the school quietly and politely just to make them aware of the situation and the pressure it's putting parents under. Like I say - I've raised this as a governor and got nowhere but it's minuted that at least one person was going "errrr... umm have you checked everyone can access this stuff?"

I've been getting things in order for if it all goes tits up with my kids - like a lot of families we had one computer that the kids shared and it was getting on a bit, so I've shelled out to get them both chromebooks (as they're what the school uses) - didn't want to have to do so just yet but they're both now at the same school using the same wooshy online learning stuff that is more specifications heavy than lots of them seem to be - so I've got in now, before the shit hits the fan and everything budget IT related gets sold out again.

People don't often appreciate how others live - there are lots of families out there with a no-longer updated smartphone that opens emails and messages but doesn't get operating system updates - so when the school signs up to something that requires a newer version of operating systems... they're fucked.

These kinds of computers on ebay are recycled and refurbished ex-business machines. They will have been used by someone in an office and are safe as houses.
Anyone can set up a business on ebay. Spyware can be put on to these computers. I doubt it happens often but there can be issues with second hand computers.

I think the state should pay. I am really concerned about the social impact of the education divide building up due to COVID.

I agree with everything you say, and it's really concerning. My OH teaches in a school in a deprived area and I'm aware of the harm that is occurring. Where do you think the state should get the money from? What should it cut to pay for kids' computers? If you think it's coming out of school budgets, you're kidding yourself - many of them are already running deficits.

It’s a gamble spending that £60 on eBay. What if it’s crap, what if it breaks immediately, what if it’s just a scam and you’ve lost the £60 your parent saved to give you?

Our school sent out a questionnaire asking if anyone would be unable to access online learning and said they have funding to buy devices. I’d assumed this was a nationwide approach?

I actually think it is an area where the state could partner with business. There are plenty of big firms that have a rolling tech upgrade programme. The old laptops would be high enough spec for school. If you could get firms to clean them and donate at least a proportion that would make a big difference.

I'm really surprised your school didn't ask you to get a computer during the first lockdown, or at least indicate you would need a PC/laptop after the summer break, knowing that there was no way we would have a vaccine by September (so that people could have been saving a bit a week the last 6 months).

@thedancingbear
And there are very few families who can't find £60 for essential school equipment.

I disagree with this statement. There are plenty of families in the UK living below the poverty line, accessing food banks, now more than ever due to furlough / pay cuts / zero hours / redundancies. A spare £60 would be going on food, heat, water, rent not on a second hand laptop.

OP, you absolutely will not be the only parent wondering how you can do this. Even families who can afford to buy a laptop / chromebook usually don't bother until secondary school.