Jahmel can’t do his homework at home without a laptop. It’s a school essential his family can’t afford

Faaetete with her children Jahmel, 13, Tedora, eight, and Polina, nine, outside their home in Brisbane. ‘We should have options for kids without laptops,’ she says. Photograph: Dan Peled/The Guardian

When Jahmel is given homework, he has two options: stay late at school, or go to a local library.

All of his year 8 classwork is online. But Brisbane-based Jahmel doesn’t have a laptop at home and the school doesn’t allow him to complete homework with a pen and paper.