Petition · past parliament · Department for Education

Supply free internet for SEND children who miss 15 or more school days

Closed 92 signatures

What the petition asks

There are far too many children who cannot attend school due to unmet SEND needs. Their families are often forced to limit or give up work to be at home with their children and the internet connection required to stream lessons is too expensive for many.
We believe many local authorities are not meeting their responsibilities under Section 19 of the Education Act, in failing to provide a suitable education for SEND children who cannot attend school.

Over 1.5 million pupils in England have special educational needs (SEN), and over 1.7 million pupils (24.2% of all pupils) missed 10% of more of their possible sessions in Autumn 2022/23.

We want the Government to ensure that any child with special educational needs or disabilities, who has missed 15 or more school days, has good, free internet access within 15 days to guarantee that they can access online education when they cannot attend school.

Timeline

21 Jul 2023 Petition opened for signatures
21 Jan 2024 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 92
Status Closed
Department Department for Education
Opened 21 Jul 2023
Closed 21 Jan 2024

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.