Mass school closures could result in “chaos” if teachers are not prepared for the “new challenge” of remote learning, a Department for Education adviser has warned.

The external expert, who advises the department on technology, also told Tes that it is estimated that 40 per cent of schools will struggle to deliver online learning in the event of mass closures.

“The number that has been bandied around [for schools that don’t have the infrastructure to cope with mass closures] is 40 per cent,” the adviser, who wishes to remain anonymous, said.

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“I don’t have any way of ratifying or validating that number. Sometimes these numbers come from anecdotal conversations; they come from people who have quite a good perspective - and they’ll say: ‘I think it’s about [this amount]’.

“Let’s say 60 per cent are able to carry on as normal. What support is going to be in place for those schools that can’t carry on?”

The news comes amid increasing concern about the lack of government guidance for schools in relation to the coronavirus outbreak, with the pressure for mass school closures growing.

When asked the following questions by Tes, the DfE refused to provide an answer:

• Does the DfE have an estimate for the number of schools that do or do not have sufficient infrastructure to cope with remote learning in the event of mass closures?
• Is the DfE aware of any safeguarding concerns related to remote learning? And will it be sending out advice to schools?
• What information does the DfE have about the proportion of pupils with access to remote learning?
• Will there be any extra funding for schools to help them cope in the event of mass closures?

Tes has also failed to get a clear answer from government on who will be responsible for the final call on mass school closures.

The DfE directed the enquiry to Public Health England, but Public Health England told Tes to speak to the DfE or the Department of Health, which suggested Tes speak to the DfE.

The DfE tech adviser told Tes that they were not aware of an official check in place to determine which schools will need extra help with delivering remote learning.

“We don’t have a national audit tool that everyone has to use,” they said. “It’s one of the things we’ve been talking to the DfE about. I am not aware of any auditing of schools [on] where they are with their infrastructures.

“But this could be one of the things that actually comes out of the crisis - we get a better understanding of where we are; we get a better understanding of the value that online learning could bring.”

They added that subject leaders were going to need “a lot of ingenuity” if the government chooses to shut all schools due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The adviser said they did not believe there was any “benchmark” for sufficient infrastructure, as “different disciplines will have different requirements”.

However, they urged schools to review the technological proficiency of staff and students, to determine how they can best support learning in the event of mass closures.

“It could be that schools have been thinking about [using edtech tools] for the last six months; they’ve had the training courses; they’re all ready for it; and then they switch that on and the school’s ready for it,” they said.

“But it could be absolute chaos without assessing the training of everyone - fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

They added: “Schools should work out where they are, do a proper check of the skills of the staff, of the students, [and] they should test the infrastructure that they think is going to work.

“They need whatever they choose to be simple, reliable and consistent because trying to support continuing learning during school closure will bring enough challenges on its own.

“Ultimately, schools will have to make policies. And then the subject teacher will have to be responsible - and they’re going to need a lot of ingenuity.

“They’re going to need to be able to rise to this new challenge - with the kids playing a different game, perhaps not wanting to learn, or perhaps just testing their ingenuity against the teacher’s ingenuity - to try and be able to monitor the progress of their learning.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the fact the edtech world is “largely driven by market forces” has meant there is no “coherent plan” of what works for schools.

“What this crisis will expose is the huge range of provision across all schools, whereby some will have a ready-made online curriculum, and others will be nowhere near that,” he said.

“None of us would criticise schools for that, because I think we haven’t nationally focused enough on the importance of what does a curriculum in the future look like. We’ve kind of fixated on a curriculum of the past.

“It feels to me as if the whole edtech world has largely been driven by market forces. Therefore what we haven’t got is a particularly coherent plan of what works or what doesn’t work.”

Ty Goddard, a member of the DfE’s Edtech Leadership Group, told Tes: “I think some schools are really running with this - [they’re] digitally-savvy - they’ve got the ability to think about how to extend and expand their already existing systems.

“And some schools are going to need support because not all schools are digitally-rich at this stage - and/or don’t have the infrastructure.

“Basically, think about where you’re at, have the conversations, think also about prioritisation - be pragmatic. Whatever you can do, please think about doing [in order] to maximise learning.”

Asked what proportion of schools will have insufficient infrastructure, Mr Goddard, who is director of the Education Foundation and chair of Edtech UK, said: “That’s very difficult to estimate. I’d be very cautious to put a number on it - I don’t think it’s helpful at this stage.”

Last week Professor Rose Luckin, a specialist in education technology at University College London, warned: “Very few primary school have the sophisticated technology and the IT support in order to be able to really do this. I think it’s just too much to expect from them.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “As the chief medical officer has said, the impact of closing schools on both children’s education and on the workforce will be substantial, but the benefit to public health may not be. 

“Decisions on future advice to schools will be taken based on the latest and best scientific evidence, which at this stage suggests children are a lower risk group.  

“Advice from Public Health England continues to be for schools to remain open, unless advised otherwise.

“We are continually reviewing how best to support all educational settings and the impact of any measures will be considered carefully before being implemented.”