65759Equal Education: e-learning lockdown solutionClosedFeasibility StudiesInnovate UKEqual Education is a social enterprise that provides tuition for children in the care system and those with special education needs and disabilities. There are currently almost 80,000 children in the care system in England. Educational outcomes for this group are, on average, 30% lower than their peers, they are far less likely to go University, and more likely to be unemployed. Our mission is to improve outcomes for this group and close the educational attainment gap. We are extremely concerned about the disproportionate effect of the pandemic on our students and their families. At the time of schools closing these children will already be 18 months behind their peers. We are therefore acting so that the attainment gap does not widen further during this time. According to TeachFirst, only 2% of teachers working in the most disadvantaged areas believe all their pupils have adequate access to the devices they need for home learning. In moving our operations online, it was evident that many young learners do not have access to a device suitable for participating in online education. In response, Equal Education has set up a Technology Supply Service to enable schools and Local Authorities to order iPads to be delivered to those who need them. We acknowledge there are concerns over online safety; the NCA has reported activity of paedophiles looking to exploit children online during the pandemic. We believe our managed device offering provides a safer option to accessing technology and mitigates risk. Each device is installed with specialist protection software, which limits distracting and dangerous websites or apps and enables Equal Education to lock down stolen or lost devices. Each device will already have all the software pre-installed on the device, with no changes or updates needed by users. This grant will enable schools and Local Authorities to provide vital access to the technology that so many children do not have. The digital divide is bad for social mobility and equality of opportunity, but now it is denying many children a fundamental right to continue their education. Education is a fundamental human right that must be upheld during this crisis. We believe every young person should have access to the educational support they need to reach their potential. Access to technology plays a vital role in enabling young people to continue to learn.