Fears that children in disadvantaged communities who do not have access to computers or internet are losing out in home schooling during lockdown have been raised by MSPs.

Holyrood’s Education Committee has warned there is a low number of vulnerable children who are eligible to attend taking up places open to them now at schools and learning hubs.

In Glasgow household broadband access is lower than many parts of the country And there are a high number of homes with with no access to the internet.

A study in 2015 showed households in the city’s deprived areas to be less likely to have an internet connection.

the study also showed many adults lacking in digital skills which could have implicatins for home schooling.

It found almost half of respondents had never used the internet.

More than half of clients in more deprived areas did not have a computer or a device they could use to access the internet

•Also more than 40% of survey respondents in more deprived areas couldn’t use a computer at all.

Clare Adamson, committee convenor has written to the Education secretary John Swinney on the matter.

She said: “Teachers need to be able to establish connections with their pupils to provide them with support for learning and support for their wellbeing.

“The reliance on home learning through electronic devices, increases the levels of digital exclusion, particularly for families experiencing poverty.

“In addition to affording devices, many families cannot afford a suitable internet connection.”

Ms Adamson also asked for research into how many vulnerable children were experiencing digital exclusion.

Two years ago Glasgow City Council began a city wide digital education project distributing I-pads to tens of thousands of pupils.

Pupils with no access to broadband at home were directed to libraries or homework clubs with free wi-fi.

Glasgow City Council said access to digital resources and how it can support families to access online learning was something it has been taking seriously during lockdown.

A spokeswoman said: “Our schools have been keeping in touch with these families by telephone, supplying lesson packs for the children and in our most vulnerable cases, supporting the children’s learning in the school hubs across the city.

“We have also been looking, where possible to accelerate the i-pad roll out for teachers and senior pupils but this must be in a supported, planned way and we will continue to do all that we can to make sure the roll out continues at a pace to help support our pupils.

“We will also make sure that we support the families that are not able to take advantage of digital learning by making sure the learning packs and support continues at school level.”