Disadvantaged students have most to lose from school shutdowns, experts warn
Many Australian families don’t have the devices and internet access we take for granted. And with schools going online for term two, experts warn this could leave many disadvantaged students behind.
South East
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Disadvantaged and at risk students have the most to lose from school shutdowns and need to be supported during this time, social agencies say.
The warning comes as the State Government announced most students would be learning from home when term two starts this week, to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
Education Minister James Merlino said the government would provide a device for every child who needed one and provide “thousands more” with free internet access.
Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) chief executive Emma King praised the move but said the rollout would require ongoing vigilance to ensure no child slipped through the cracks.
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“We’re particularly concerned about students with disabilities, who may need extra help to learn or more supervision so we’d like to know what that’s going to look like,” she said.
Ms King said it was also vital that at risk children were able to stay connected to their schools.
“Even before this was happening, we were seeing 10,000 kids disengaging from school so we need to ensure those students get the support they need so they don’t drop out,” she said.
The Smith Family’s Victorian general manager Anton Leschen said almost a quarter of students supported by the charity’s Learning for Life program didn’t have access to a computer or reliable internet at home.
He said many of the students came from backgrounds with single parents or family violence, multiple siblings and high unemployment.
“For many students schools can be the one place of routine, calm and order where they can apply themselves,” Mr Leschen said.
“Many of them come from schools that are not well-resourced to be able to support them – even on a standard day these schools were not flush with the hardware and operating platforms.
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“It’s a challenging time for everyone but for families with low incomes this just heightens the challenges and children could miss significant chunks of education.”
Mr Merlino said every student would get the support they needed.
“Whether they are learning at home or attending school on-site. We will provide a device to every child that needs one and provide thousands more with free internet,” he said.
Ms King said students in regional black spots and bushfire affected should also be taken into consideration.
“We will be working really hard to make sure that genuinely no child is left behind,” she said.