Covid-19: Parents struggle to meet home schooling demands

Edwina Ogu said home schooling four children with no computer in the first lockdown had been a "nightmare"

Parents say they feel "deserted" having to home school during lockdown with a lack of access to computers.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced school closures across the country as part of a national lockdown on Monday.

Bristol mother Edwina Ogu said home schooling four children with no computer during the first lockdown had been a "nightmare".

The Department for Education (Dfe) has pledged to provide one million devices for schools and colleges.

Secondary schools have been advised to close except for vulnerable and key workers' children and in local authorities with high levels of coronavirus, primary schools are also closed to most pupils.

It comes after the UK moved to Covid-19 threat level five, meaning there was a risk the NHS could be overwhelmed.

Edwina Ogu said home schooling her children was hard work.

"I felt scared and I was worried not just for myself, I was worried for my children as well because we had nothing apart from the phone," she said.

The family has now been lent a laptop by the school her children attend.

Single mother-of-five and small business owner Vicky Price, from Henleaze in Bristol, said when she heard schools were closed and had to plan home schooling with two laptops she felt "devastated".

"I cried because It just feels overwhelming," she said.

Vicky Price said she cried when she learned she would be juggling work and home schooling again

"When you're on your own like this, home schooling and juggling work is challenging especially without enough computers.

"I have four children at home in primary and secondary schools and in the last lockdown, my daughter in GCSE year got lent a laptop which helped, but we still need more so they can all do their school work.

"The digital divide is still huge."

'Education crisis'

Bristol organisation Digilocal has been taking in donated laptops and giving them to families in need.

Trustee Nick Flaherty said there were still families from low-income backgrounds and with language barriers that will "suffer" during the pandemic.

"We have a digital divide already that we have been talking about for 20 years and there is still a serious lack of understanding from the government on what families need.

"They need broadband, IPads, laptops and friendly people on the ground to access those that are not getting the help they need.

Edwina Ogu's reaction when she was given a repurposed laptop by her school

"It's part of an education crisis and what the pandemic could provide is a spotlight on digital inequality."

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "The scale of deliveries has now been increased, with a further 50,000 devices sent to schools across the country on Monday alone.

"We are also working with all the UK's leading mobile network operators to provide free data for key educational sites.

"We have also been delivering 4G routers to families who need to access the internet."

If you have a laptop or tablet that you want to donate then please visit this BBC site where you can find details of charities who will help get them safely wiped and sent to the children that need them the most.