Member

During the pandemic, technology was a lifeline that kept children learning, but there is a risk that it becomes ubiquitous in ways that we have not properly examined, as the noble Lord, Lord Storey, said. As with smartphones, only later are we waking up to the scale of the harms, and it would be irresponsible not to pursue stronger evidence before embedding these practices as the norm. Until we have a fuller picture, it is right to take an opportunity to pause and reflect on what we might be sleepwalking into and give parents the choice to opt out where they feel that device-based homework is unhelpful for their child.