iPad for Learning Scheme

iPad for Learning Scheme

The iPad for Learning Scheme is an integral part of our teaching and learning offer. Our staff team expertly plan for iPad use in lessons to support learning, improve student progress and to allow greater collaboration with other students.

Our vision is that digital skills are integrated into every subject area. The use of tablet devices means that as a forward-looking school we can offer more personalized learning and lessons are kept relevant and engaging for young people as well as equipping them with the required skills and digital literacy for the future.

The scheme came into its own when we moved into remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. Students were able to continue with a full timetable of lessons from day one and keep in contact with subject teachers.

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the scheme, please see below.

To find out how to help keep your child safe online, please click here: E-Safety

ipad faqs

The iPad for learning scheme is funded using parental contributions. We ask for a small deposit to enter into the scheme and then either:

  1. Regular monthly payment payable via ParentPay, this is a good option if parents would like to make regular payments of different amounts.
  2. Monthly direct debit from your bank account.

We spread the cost of the iPad over 38 months on an interest-free basis. Malton School makes no profit from the parental contributions made for the devices.

You may pay the entire balance up front if you wish.

Unlike schemes in other schools we felt that it was more appropriate the parents gained ownership of the device at the end of the scheme for no additional cost.

Malton School will retain ownership of the device for the duration of the program of study, on payment of the final monthly payment the device ownership will automatically transfer to you. After this time you may do with the device as you see fit.

Once ownership has transferred Malton School will no longer accept any responsibility for the devices, and any insurances on the devices will lapse on this day. It is recommended you make your own provision to insure the device for loss, thief or damage after this date.

Any chargeable app licences paid for by the school will automatically be removed.

The device remains the property of Malton School until all payments are made. If the program of study is terminated prematurely the device must be returned to Malton School OR any remaining payments on the device must be settled in full when the ownership of the device will be transferred. Upon transfer of ownership in this instance Malton School accepts no responsibility for any loss, theft or damage of the device.

  1. Using ParentPay, our online payment platform.
  2. Direct Debit
  1. At Malton School we try to be as flexible as possible, with this in mind we are able to accept cash and cheques at start of the scheme if you are settling the entire balance upfront. Due to that additional administrative burden we can’t accept cash and cheques for monthly payment.If you require the ability to pay by cash and cheques we can issue you with a “Paypoint” barcode. This allows you to make payments at your local convenience stores using the “Paypoint” service. Refer to the paypoint website to find your local store with the paypoint facility, as of June 2015 they are 5 locations in Malton and Norton.Please be aware that some convenience stores do not offer the facility to make payment using cheques.
  1. There is financial assistance available throughout the scheme if you at any point during the scheme are claiming one or more of the following.
    • income support
    • income-based Jobseekers allowance
    • income-related employment and support allowance
    • child tax credit with an income of less than £16,190 and not in receipt of working tax credit
    • support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
    • guarantee element of state pension credit.
    • Multiple Siblings in the iPad Scheme – If your child has two other participating siblings currently in the i-Pad scheme, after the initial deposits are paid, we are offering substantial discounts (over 50%) on the remaining balance.

    Even if you only claim one or more of the above for a short time there is assistance available to help you make the payments to the scheme during your claim period.

    Please get in touch as soon as you think you qualify.

  1. The payment towards the iPad for learning scheme entitles your student the following:
    1. 1x iPad 10.2″ 8th Generation
    2. Logitec Slim Folio Case
    3. Accidental Damage & theft Insurance for the duration of the program of study
    4. Technical Support from the School ICT department
    5. Access to a selection of chargeable apps for the duration of the program of study
  1. Malton School will guarantee that all students who are up to date with payment will have a functioning device for the entire program of study. If a device is stolen from your property or a vehicle we expect any insurance policies in place to deal with replacement of the device. If a device is stolen from the school premises we will look to cover the replacement of the device. All Malton School iPads have installed tracking software on them that relay their last known locations to a management console over the internet. When a stolen device connects to the internet we have the facility to track the device as well as remotely lock them rendering the device useless to the thief. If a device is reported stolen it is expected that this is reported to the police and an incident number to be provided so the school can relay locational information to the authorities. If a device is accidently damaged or lost the school will repair or replace the device as appropriate. Each instance of loss or damage will result in the requirement of a an excess being paid before a repair will commence or replacement issued. Any instances of negligence (including but not limited to malicious damage, Misplacement and wilful acts of vandalism) to the device will not be covered by the insurance policies and the appropriate parties will be expected to fund the entire cost of the repair.
  1. Yes, we have no problem with your child bring in an iPad that you already own, as long as it is an iPad 2017 (5th Generation) or later or an iPad mini version 4 or later. Please remember that Malton School will accept no responsibility for personal iPads used in school, it is strongly recommended that you obtain you own insurance against accidental damage, theft or loss. It is also your responsibility to ensure the device you provide has any apps installed that would normally be provided by the school. Malton School will not be held financial responsible for any chargeable apps required on device not owned by them. It is expected that all devices, either provided by the school or personal devices, are brought to school on a daily basis and are kept charged.

Absolutely not, the scheme proposed makes no profit for the school. We have strived at every opportunity to keep the cost to parents as low as possible. Some of the actions we have taken:

  1. Opted to use the iPad mini rather than the full size units saving around £80 per unit.
  2. Passing on directly to parents any bulk purchasing discounts that are achieved.
  3. As Malton School retains ownership of the device throughout the program of study it allows us to re-claim the VAT on the devices. In line with current VAT regulations VAT does NOT need to be recharged to parents at the end of the scheme.

We believe that Malton School has achieved the lowest monthly payment for an iPad for learning scheme in North Yorkshire.

An extensive comparison of various devices has been completed and iPad proved to be the most competitive in a number of key areas:

  • 10 hour battery life
  • Robust, lightweight and portable.
  • Extensive range of cheap/free Apps, developed specifically for educational use on the iPad.
  • Familiar and desirable
  • Range of inbuilt sensors and two cameras
  • Apple’s closed ecosystem, means that only certified Apps can be installed, giving some degree of confidence in the Apps to which students have access. The Apps will not contain viruses and can be restricted by age group.
  • A number of other establishments that we are linked to via our membership of the Red Kite Teaching Alliance and NYCC have already opted to use iPads and have already established a large body of knowledge and good practice that we can share.

We then completed a further analysis between the iPad mini and the iPad Air. The results of our analysis suggested the additional investment required of the iPad Air did not enhance the learning experience sufficiently.

It is possible to block access to certain sites within school on iPads, in the same way that it has been with PCs. However we are mindful of our duty of care to our students and the responsibility that we have to educate them so that they understand the risks associated with social media and use it safely and positively.

Staff training will focus on effective short term use of the iPad. It will not be used in every lesson, all lesson. Many of the uses will involve using the video camera or working collaboratively with other students. A lesson with heavy iPad use may see it used as a quizzing tool at the start, to carry out 10 minutes of independent research in the middle and to photograph written work to swap with a fellow student to peer assess at the end.

This issue is covered in the Acceptable Use Policy and will be taken very seriously. In the same way that it is now if a student uses their phone in this way. Playing games and taking photographs/video are possible now, as the majority of our students carry mobile phones. Victims of such acts should report the instances to pastoral staff who will ensure the offending individual removes all copies of such photographs and will be dealt with in line with the school behaviour policy.

As this is a phased implementation over a number of years we will be able to identify bottlenecks in our infrastructure before they have an impact on performance of the scheme. The Schools long term strategic development plan has provision for annual expansions of Wi-Fi provisions. The Wi-Fi hardware selected is a fully scalable solution that is capable of handling in excess of 3000 concurrent users and has been well proven in other schools of providing the Wi-Fi provision we required.

We have procured and installed multiple high speed internet connection embracing a range of available technologies to provide a high speeds, resilient internet connection with inbuild redundancy and fail over.

You almost certain can purchase alternative tablets cheaper, but we ask that you provide you child with an apple device. This allows our teachers to plan lessons safe in the knowledge that all the students are accessing a common environment and that no child is disadvantaged because apps and resources are not available for their devices. If you wish you could source a second hand iPad that matches the specification required, this would be your responsibility to ensure this device was operational through the program of study, this is not recommended as it is difficult to validate the history of a second hand device to know if it will last.

Unfortunately not we are able to offer the scheme at such a low price compared to the high street as we will purchase a large quantity of devices commanding a substantial discount. This discount will not be repeated on future transactions of lesser quantities. Please thoroughly consider all possible outcomes and how you would respond to these if decide to provide your own device, It is important to consider that Malton School will not repair or replace ant devices that were no purchased through the scheme.

This would give the school a big problem as our decision to purchase the iPads, cases, apps, insurance and warranties will be based on the initial level of support from our parents. Changing your mind half way through would compromise the school’s finances. This is a commitment to your children/our students that needs to be seen through.

Since the implementation of our iPad for Learning Scheme in 2012 our lead practitioner team have developed a list of Apps that they think should be on every student device. If you provide your own device, it is your responsibility to provide these apps and pay form them where applicable.

Every device purchased via the scheme is controlled by our MDM (Mobile devices Management system.) This allow us to remotely push free and paid apps onto the devices without the need to recall the devices. This system doesn’t prevent the students installing their own apps it merely ensure that the core app requirement is adhered to. Some departments may require the installation of specialist subject specific apps. The students will be expected to install these on the devices at the request of the individual class teacher.

This is not a decision we have taken lightly, we have analysed the impact of our existing post-16 scheme. We have also taken reference from other schools that we are associated with that began similar scheme several years ago, as well as looking at studies performed by respected bodies:

iPad Scotland Evaluation by Faculty of Education, The University of Hull

Study Longfield Academy, Kent by Naace (The ICT Association)

No, this scheme requires all parents to contribute. We are able to secure some grant funding from our endowment governors and the local authority to assist with payments from parents who genuinely can’t afford them. If a very small handful of parent decided not to contribute we would look to fund the shortfall from the school budget, this would obviously be at the detriment to education provision in other areas, but we passionately believe this scheme will make a different to the quality of teaching and learning in the school. We hope that parents will join us in our belief that this is a positive scheme and will financially back the scheme. If too many parents choose not to contribute the scheme would not be able to go ahead.

This will vary from subject to subject. In some lessons, iPads will not be used at all. In other lessons, the iPad may be used for the starter or the plenary, or for a few minutes of internet research. iPad use will not replace the good teaching that already occurs, but will supplement it as and when appropriate.

No, all devices purchased via the scheme will be enrolled on our MDM (mobile device managmenet system.) This system allows us to push paid for and free apps onto the devices. Any Free apps WILL remain on the devices after the end of the program of study, but any apps paid for by the school will automatically uninstall. This allows use to re-issue the license to new students as they enroll.

Effective classroom management is just as important as ever when iPads are used. When iPads are not needed, they will be left face down on the table, in view of the teacher. Sanctions in line with out behaviour management system will encouragement of students to take responsibility for their own learning, and the vast majority will comply with expectation. The minority who don’t, and who choose to become distracted by the iPad, will be re-focussed by the teacher, and this may involve them doing without the iPad for a short period of time.

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