Digital Device Provision

We want to give our pupils the life skills and understanding to be ahead of others in terms of employability and optimum working practices, and recognise that technology will play an important role in this.

Pupils at Berkhamsted need to leave the School confident that they can safely navigate the wider world in which they live and will work. Universities and businesses are expecting students and employees to be digitally literate and have a high awareness of their personal digital footprint.

Not necessarily. Our vision is for Berkhamsted pupils and teachers to use technology in a blended learning environment; complementing existing teaching styles by using devices to enhance, and in some cases transform, pupils’ learning experiences. We continue to value the importance of ensuring that all our pupils, without exception, are able to read and write fluently and are fully numerate. We see mobile technology as an additional tool to enhance opportunities for pupils to excel, and it is more important to reflect qualitatively on usage in terms of learning outcomes and progress where technology has facilitated good work, rather than tallying up lessons or hours.

Nationally more and more teachers are reducing their usage of textbooks, and are using online resources instead. DDP will offer more flexibility for combining digital resources, including subscription resources, online materials from the web and electronic versions of textbooks. In addition, DDP will mean that departments can reduce the use of paper and exercise books in favour of digital work where it best suits the needs of teachers and learners.

We will make school-wide expectations of behaviour clear to staff as part of our internal process and to students when DDP is launched, including managing off-task behaviours. We are also investigating software that will allow teachers to monitor pupil use, as well as considering arrangement of classroom furniture. Wireless connection for teacher devices means that teachers are not obliged to teach from the front of the room, and can circulate actively amongst students to monitor their work.

Screen size is relatively small so some flexibility about switching between active windows and working with multiple online resources is needed. Whilst this may be frustrating initially for some learners; we know that they are usually agile users of multiple apps on their phones, and can transfer this skillset to their schoolwork. Teachers can explore how best to deliver resources to them in a responsive and coherent way through tools such as OneNote and Firefly.

Improving students’ typing speed will become a more significant priority in Year 7. We already teach approximately 4-5 lessons in Years 7 and 8 ICT with brief revisit in Year 9. We subscribe to an online course to support students’ progress, and assess typing speed annually. It will be important to boost typing skills further, as slow keyboard use (less than 25 wpm) may be an obstacle to progress. Nonetheless, we are also keen to highlight that the Surface device pen is a powerful inking tool and students can also handwrite on the Surface very effectively.

The Digital Wellbeing Framework has proved successful in improving mobile phone usage and creating a better atmosphere in School. Therefore, in the first year, we will maintain the current zones and apply the same rules to Surface devices as to mobile phones. Some reflection will be needed about Nash Harris Dining Hall with regard to the 6th Form. We will review the DWF in the latter part of Year 1 to reframe it for the start of Year 2, taking into account the fact that no student should need to use their mobile phone for learning once Year 2 has begun.

In terms of physical wellbeing, it is important that we educate staff and students on the importance of posture and eye health. There is a lot of debate in the research community about the real effects of screens on mental health and sleep, so we advocate for balanced and blended learning experiences which do not depend on screens 100% of the time, without setting arbitrary time limits.

The provision of the device will be included in the general fees, although we will be asking for a contribution towards the cost of the device in the region of £60-80 per child per term.

We have concluded, through research, that a school-issued protective case/cover is likely to be rejected by pupils due to lack of choice and customisation and therefore we will be asking parents to purchase a protective case/cover of your choosing. Rugged cases are highly recommended and start from £30. Specification and recommended models will be published closer the time.

After years of research looking into different schemes and roll-out models, in particular similarly sized independent schools, we have chosen the Microsoft Surface as the device of choice to supply to pupils.

The Microsoft Surface is a hybrid tablet that lends itself well to the education environment where a device with a variety of applications is required, including a stylus to write with.

Surface Go - Year 7 and 8 Weight: 767g 245mm x 175mm 10” 10 point multi-touch screen	Surface Pro - Year 9-13 Weight 1.1Kg 292mm x 201mm 12.3” 10 point multi-touch screen

We will be issuing devices before the new academic year begins to Years 7, 9, 10 and 12 (Sept 2019 intake). For current Year 6 pupils moving up / joining in Sept 2019 devices will be available from late June 2019. Devices for pupils moving up / joining Year 9, 10 and 12 will be available from July 2019.

Each device will need setting up by the pupil. Families will be given the choice to take the device ‘out of the box’ and with instructions set up the device at home. Alternatively, we will be running sessions throughout the summer break to issue devices to pupils in a training environment.

The following images indicate the device replacement timelines for year groups moving up / joining in Sept 2019.

Year 7 - Receives a Surface Go from Jun 2019

Year 8 - Receives a Surface Pro from July 2020

Year 9 - Receives a Surface Pro from July 2019

Year 10 - Receives a Surface Pro from July 2019

Year 11 - Receives a Surface Pro from July 2020

Year 12 - Receives a Surface Pro from July 2019

Our research has discovered that 1:1 schemes that use devices not owned, but more importantly not managed by the school can be problematic for a number of reasons, in particular around classroom management. Standardisation of hardware and software is an important factor to ensure that lessons with devices run smoothly because the school can guarantee compatibility.

Every device is covered for accidental damage and theft. A procedure will be in place for a replacement device to be provided. An excess of £50 will be chargeable for each claim.

The Microsoft Surface has a very reasonable battery life and we expect that with good power management, a fully charged device will last a full school day. Pupils may not always remember to charge their device at home, and for those occasions there will be provision for charging in house rooms and in lessons.

Support of the device is one of reasons why we didn't entertain a bring-you-own-device scheme. By supplying a school-issued and managed device means we can provide an excellent level of support. All pupils will have access to the IT drop-in centres at Kings and Castle campuses between 8am-5pm Monday to Friday. Help and advice on Office 365 and best practices will be covered in ICT lessons for Y7-9.

Yes. Windows defender will be installed on every device to protect from viruses and malicious software. In addition to this internet filtering software will be installed to reduce the risk of accessing websites that are at the source of such material.

All devices will have internet filtering and safeguarding software to prevent access to inappropriate content. This does not negate parents setting clear boundaries and expectations for use at home in the same way as if it were their own computer.

We know from our recent surveys of Berkhamsted pupils that a large number already carry expensive devices to and from school and so we believe that they are not under any greater threat. We will encourage pupils to follow standard precautions when travelling to and from school.

Yes. The IT services and platforms that Berkhamsted provide are cloud based and therefore require internet access.

No. The device provided will run the latest version of Windows and Microsoft Office. Other applications for specific subjects will also be available for pupils to download. As far as school work is concerned there will not be anything that they are expected to do digitally that can’t be done on their school issued device. In a majority of cases everything that they need/want to do outside of school work can also be done on the school-issued device.