Station Road, Halmer End, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST7 8AP

01782 729400

iPads

At Sir Thomas Boughey Academy we are passionate about preparing our students for the future and giving them the best possible chances in life.

Technology is ever prominent in the world of work, with at least 90% of jobs now requiring ICT skills.

With this in mind, we are fully embedding technology into teaching and learning across the school, and our Digital Learning Programme will be the catalyst for this for years to come.

In Partnership with Learning Foundation and Sync (previously called GBM) our shared vision is one iPad for every student across the Academy by 2025.

We are beginning this scheme in 2021 with the first iPads being used from January 2022.

We will roll this programme out year on year and it is designed to be fair, affordable, and sustainable.

2023 Year 7 Sign Up – Now Open Until Friday 10th November

Please email any completed BYOD forms to iPads@stb.academy, once you have registered on ‘The Portal’

Important Help and Links

In all instances, if you require any help or guidance, no matter if it’s regarding your donation, direct debit, financial support, insurance, warranty or just general support, please call 0203 051 8456, email support@edutech.zone or use the online parent enquiry form https://edutech.zone/parent_enquiries

One of the Edutech support team will provide them you the information you need or will pass it to the appropriate member of the wider programme to assist you with your query.

Cost and Specification

We have agreed with the Charity Learning Foundation that they would like a charitable donation of £14.50 per month for 36 months or a one-off donation of £522. This will be part of the contract you sign. After this time, the iPad will be ‘donated’ back to the student and become your family property. Although it will still be ‘locked down’ at school until the end of Year 11.

This is a really cost-effective way of getting a brand new 10.2 Inch iPad, the latest model is 64Gb with a Retina Display too, with a case, home management software, a warranty and accidental damage insurance!

We don’t think we can afford it – We have this covered!

The whole scheme is underpinned by a Charity. When you sign up you simply tick a box to let them know you may need assistance with the payments. The Charity do the rest – we don’t even know who is and isn’t getting assistance.

It is important to note that we do not intend to disadvantage any student. The intention is that all pupils have access to an iPad every day. For the project to be viable we need the vast majority of parents on board.

We also appreciate the variety of incomes and expenditures that families experience. If you feel you fall into the category of “we can’t afford this” (or do so in the future) do not worry – just sign up and request support. Lots of our parents have already done this.

Insurance

This covers accidental damage which is included in the price. This is for the adoption programme only not BYOD (see above)

Will all students need one?

Yes. For the project to work we will have to ensure that there is 100% coverage for students. Whilst we could still teach classes without full coverage it is our intention that all students have one every day.

Can students just access anything they like?

In a word – No!

It comes with some great software from Jamf to help school and you control their use. One click – no internet. One click – no Social Media. One click – off. Simple timer settings too. See our video and Jamf Parent Booklet for more help with this.

In School we have even greater control. When a class teacher wants attention, they can lock the iPads with one click.

At home – parents and guardians are in charge. You will be free to download apps and use the iPad as you see fit at home. These additional downloads would not be available in school though. If you wished to use it as a ‘Family’ iPad that is fine – as long as the child has absolute priority when it comes to doing work that is set using the iPad.

What about Social Media?

Social Media sites and apps are completely blocked in school. Students are not allowed to use any mobile device at break and lunch time so that rule also applies to the iPads.

At home – you have complete control using the management software that we install.

Will it be just iPad Learning?

The iPad will just be one tool that our teachers will use. Whilst there may be online resources the iPad will not replace the need for textbooks or other styles of learning. The iPads will provide an additional type of learning to engage the students further. It will also be a source of support for those students who could benefit from it.

This is the same for Homework. Whilst some homework will be iPad based it will not be all homework. This is also a 5-year rolling project. For it to be successful we must be using them regularly to enhance learning throughout your child’s time at school. Part of our role is to ensure these are not ‘a novelty item’ and have real impact.

What if they forget their iPad?

We plan to have a bank of emergency iPads for the odd occasion when a student hasn’t brought theirs to school or failed to charge it properly. It will form part of students being ‘Lesson Ready’ and sanctions will be put in place for students who repeatedly fail to bring it to school.

But we already have a laptop at home

Whilst some work may be set using the iPad at home, the intention is that they are getting regular use in classes across the curriculum in school. It is the enhancement of that learning experience that we believe will accelerate interest and learning. Whilst a family laptop or device is great, an individual device resolves the issues that can arise with sharing devices.

What if I need training?

If there is a need for parental training, this will be provided.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

If you already own a device of a similar specification you will be able to use our BYOD Scheme. The iPad needs to be the correct ‘Spec’ to run the management software and there is a small one-off cost of £25 for the software license. Please make sure you read and fully understand what is required of the device below, and some steps you should take before committing your device to be enrolled on to the scheme.

To register for the BYOD Scheme you also need to sign up below

BYOD Sign Up

The full list of BYOD requirements can be seen here:

BYOD Requirements

In terms of setup please note the following pieces of information:

The iPad will need to brought to the academy to be processed and enrolled on to the Jamf system using a blueprint which is run through Apple Configurator 2. This will reset and fully wipe the device of all apps, photos, videos, songs, files and more…
Therefore we advise you perform a full backup of your iPad before submitting it to be enrolled. Once enrolled and returned to you, you may sign back in to your Apple ID to restore content purchases, photos and such
The iPad should preferably be wiped clean. This means, Signed Out of any Apple IDs to remove Activation Lock and Find My Device disabled to allow the blueprint to run (the presence of accounts invokes security measures which halts this process)
If you’re unsure how to wipe the iPad to Factory Settings; please ensure the device is sent in to school and you provide the PIN, Apple ID linked to the iPad and the Apple ID password
If you cannot supply all of the above details, it will not be possible to enroll your device
If you are buying a new device explicitly for this scheme, it is preferable the iPad is provided ‘off the shelf’ when it is to be processed and enrolled. i.e.: Not turned on or setup in anyway to save the device being wiped

In the event that you are supply Apple ID information for us to wipe the iPad, it might be advisable to change the password to your Apple ID account temporarily, and then change it back once we have completed the wipe and enrol process.

Useful Articles and Help

Additional BYOD Information

Please note: the BYOD iPad will not be insured (those on the scheme will be). Parents will be required to sign a ‘Bring your own device agreement’. A licence for Jamf (our management software) will need to be purchased through the school and installed so that the device can be managed and so we can install the school based apps too; this requires the iPad to be wiped.

There is a responsibility that the device is used only for purposes suitable for the age of the student. If it is a shared device at home, our filtering systems may automatically detect websites that are inappropriate for students to use, lock down the device and collect data from the sites. E.g. Online banking, online gaming (PEGI 18) etc.

Although the BYOD specification lists compatibility with Apple Pen technology, it is not required that you supply one with the iPad. We do not intend to use these initially, but would like to future the proof the technology to reserve the right to expand our offering. To do this we need to provide a consistent baseline to all models used in school, as devices provided through signing up to the scheme will be Apple Pen compatible.

But I still have questions…

Edutech Zone now deal with all iPad related questions

Need support? Technical Questions? Financial Questions? Email Edutech on support@edutech.zone
Complete their online form edutech.zone/parent_enquiries
OR Call on 0203 051 8456