By Gavin Mackintosh And Victoria Mckeown-
Predicted grades will impact children from working class families most, because many of them are offline and lack the ability to work on their own.
The Mayor of London has been called on to help schools identify which pupils need extra support after this summer’s exams were cancelled.
Following yesterday’s announcement that GCSE and A-level exams would be replaced by teacher assessments, London Assembly Education Panel chairman Jenette Arnold has called on London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, to help local authorities identify pupils who are “effectively offline” and whose results may be negatively affected by teacher-led grading.
Some pupils live in areas with poor internet connection, and there are several who don’t even have access to internet at home.
The Government yesterday announced it was working with leading mobile network providers to offer free mobile data for disadvantaged families. However, some areas in the Uk have poor internet reception, which mobile data does not always provide internet connection when how many working class children with limited academic ability will cope with remote learning.
Ms Arnold said: “While the Government may be stepping up to get families laptops, tablets and routers, students in digital and economic disadvantage already had learning setbacks and poorer education access before the pandemic began.
“Evidence shows that relying on predicted grades can have a bigger impact on BAME and working class children. Cancelling the exams and buying more laptops may not be enough to overcome the learning gaps forced on them by school shut downs.
“I urge the Mayor to lead on helping London authorities and schools to identify and estimate children who are effectively offline.
“Many young Londoners are struggling to learn remotely for reasons out of their control. They will be worried about what this means for their grades.
“Students need urgent clarity from the Government on how a teacher-led grading system will work and if gaps in learning will be factored in. The Mayor must ask the Government what it will do to address the impact on children being left behind.”
City Hall generally relies on national data for information about students who need assistance with technological devices and academic support.
Ofcom estimates that up to 1.78 million children in the UK have no access to a device such as a laptop, desktop computer or tablet and more than 880,000 children live in a household that relies on mobile data for an internet connection.
The Government yesterday announced it was working with leading mobile network providers to offer free mobile data for disadvantaged families. However, some areas in the Uk have poor internet reception, which mobile data does not always provide internet connection when