This report shares the findings of a focused piece of research carried out in Scotland by CELCIS and partners at the University of Edinburgh. The aim of the research was to understand care leavers' experiences of digital exclusion before and during the COVID-19 restrictions in Scotland in 2020 and builds on earlier work which explored this issue by looking at the experience and provision across 17 local authority areas in Scotland by surveying those working within local authority services.
This research found that the experience and issues which underpin digital exclusion within the care experienced community had been exacerbated by the pandemic and its subsequent social restrictions. Challenges around ensuring digital access during the pandemic included: a lack of hardware; a lack of access to stable broadband or Wi-Fi; and for some, gaps in digital confidence and literacy.
View the launch webinar here.
Read also: Bridging the digital divide for care experienced young people in Scotland: If not now, when?
