91Èȱ¬

Mobile companies have announced plans to offer free data and unlimited broadband for children studying at home due to the latest lockdown.

BT, Three UK and Vodafone say they will work with Government to try to help disadvantaged kids avoid falling behind in their learning because they don't have access to the internet at home

Between 1.14 million and 1.78 million children in the UK (9%) do not have home access to a laptop, desktop or tablet, and that more than 880,000 children live in a home with only a mobile internet connection.

Lots of experts have been expressing concerns of a growing divide in digital access, with some families unable to afford mobile devices or a good broadband connection, and tech firms have been urged to do more.

Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England, said the Government needed to treat pupils without laptops and access to sufficient technology as a priority.

She told the 91Èȱ¬: "There is no doubt that remote learning and a large amount of time out of school has a very negative impact on children... Remote learning now needs to be a high priority for the Government."

Vodafone has offered 350,000 SIM cards that provide 30GB of data to schools and colleges for disadvantaged students, while BT confirmed it was already working with the Department for Education (DfE) to help disadvantaged children with extra mobile data each month.

BT said that the fee data could be accessed through schools, and aims to allow pupils to access whichever educational sites that their school uses.

The announcement comes after the companies were under pressure to do more to help, with groups including Oak National Academy - the remote learning site set up last year to aid remote schooling - calling on network providers to allow access to educational websites without any data charges.

Matt Hood, principal of the online academy, said the cost of internet access was the "single biggest issue" preventing children from accessing learning during lockdown, with pupils from the poorest families in danger of being "locked out of lockdown learning".

"It's time for the big four telecoms firms to step up and do their bit," he said.