The companies helping families with home-schooling

As home learning continues to be a new normal for school pupils throughout the country, some of the UK’s biggest companies are attempting to alleviate the practical and financial strain of accessing online lessons.

With a government mandate of between three to five hours of home schooling each day, it can mean larger bills for families without access to broadband, with many reliant instead on their monthly mobile data allowance. Figures from the UK media watchdog Ofcom show easier ways to log on to home-schooling could benefit some of the approximately 880,000 families who are solely reliant on a mobile connection and data allowance for internet connectivity.

From 25 January, customers on the EE, BT Mobile and Plusnet Mobile networks have not had to use their data allowance to access content here on BBC Bitesize while schools remain closed, a service called zero-rating.

BBC director general Tim Davie said: "With the pandemic forcing schools to close again, we should not allow a lack of digital access to further impact children's education.”

In an additional part of its lockdown educational package, BT is offering a fixed broadband tariff of £10 per month for low income families and free wi-fi vouchers for eligible families. It is also working with the assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to zero-rate access content which reflects their respective curriculum differences.

BT consumer brands chief executive Marc Allera said: "We want to ensure that no child is left behind in their education as a result of this pandemic and recognise that we all have a role we can play to help families and carers continue their children's education while schools are closed."

Supermarket chain Asda is distributing free laptops to schoolchildren who do not have the appropriate hardware in their homes to keep up with lockdown learning. Ofcom figures show that between 1.1m and 1.8m schoolchildren in the UK - around 9% - do not have access to laptop or desktop computers, or a tablet device at home. The laptops in the Asda scheme will also include a 20GB data allowance from their mobile partners Vodafone with the first shipments expected to arrive in schools this month.

The BBC’s local radio stations have also been involved in a campaign where members of the public can donate their old laptops to children who need them for lockdown learning. More than 17,000 devices have been donated so far, with 30,000 more pledged from businesses. The scheme is now aiming to help families with data access too. Donations are still being accepted, but people are asked not to drop off any equipment they wish to donate at BBC buildings. Instead, this list shows charities around the country who can advise on the best way to help.

As well as BBC Bitesize programming going free-to-air on BBC Two and CBBC during school closures, the government supported Oak National Academy could potentially have its content zero-rated by some of the major mobile network providers.

Vodafone, EE, BT, Virgin, Sky, Plusnet and Three all expressed an interest in giving the content free to users. There are technical issues involved before it can happen, such as issues where third party content is used. On 25 January, O2 announced via Twitter that free access to Oak’s learning content was available to its customers.

Matt Hood, principal of Oak Academy, said: “The telecoms firms are now really stepping up, and thanks to them, universal access could be a reality. There are technical issues to resolve, but we’re confident with everyone around the table that these are not insurmountable.”

While the majority of children are learning at home, schools are remaining open for children considered vulnerable and those who parents are key workers. In the meantime, BBC Bitesize content continues to be available online and on iPlayer as well as the daily broadcasts.

Tim Davie added: "The BBC will continue to do all we can to ensure every child, whatever their circumstances, can continue to access vital educational materials during this time."