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Frontline worker speaks out for older carers

Learning for Life staff

06 September 2021

Canteen orders, absentee notes, homework. There is hardly an aspect of modern school life that isn’t done online. Learning for Life Coordinator Kara is on the front line and meets many older caregivers struggling to adapt. She’s worried their children could be left behind.

There are millions of people in Australia who don’t have reliable internet. In fact, some regional and remote communities have no web access at all. It’s no surprise that thousands of Australians living in these places – especially older people – lack digital skills and the confidence to learn.

“It might be eye-opening to supporters that many grandparents are carers and are victims of a generational technology gap,” Kara says. “I remember one grandfather in his seventies who was living with disadvantage and had low literacy. And he became the primary carer to a six-year-old granddaughter and a 15-year-old grandson. I saw how hard it was for him not having the digital literacy to support the children to learn with technology. Even ordering online from the school canteen and submitting online absentee notes were really hard.”

In regional areas of NSW near Bathurst and Orange where Kara works, many families live near the poverty line. They cannot afford digital devices and costly internet plans. Smaller towns in the region lack libraries where young people can go online to do homework. But the biggest challenge, says Kara, is a lack of digital literacy in older carers.

“Grandparents can struggle just to log on to the school portal or communicate with their school over Facebook, let alone supporting our students with technology in their learning,” Kara says.

This is where The Smith Family can make a big difference. Through our Digital Access program, made possible by our corporate partners, we provide digital device and internet access to families. We help parents and carers improve their computer skills and confidence online. We want all the families you help support to reap the education benefits of being digitally included. It’s never too late to learn.