to think primary school children shouldn't be parked in front of videos and ipads during class time?

[schroedingersdodo]

Ds1 will start reception this year and I've visited several of the schools nearby. This morning I went to the one considered the best in the area. Outstanding ofsted, catchment area of 200m (heard people rent nearby to get a place for first child and then move away again), yadda yadda yadda.

In the reception class quite a few children were playing with ipads on a table. The head said the school has 30 ipads and they are always being used by the teachers in class (as part of the class programme). I passed by at least two classrooms were all the children were watching videos in a big screen, one of them Rhyme Rocket from cbeebies.

Sometimes I do plonk my Dc in front of the tv or ipad, so I can do something else, but I consider this a lazy solution, that I use when I can't be bothered to think of something else and am too tired to parent properly.

AIBU to think plonking children in front of screens is not the role of the school, and that the teachers should be engaging them in activities and not relying on ipads to keep them quiet/well behaved?

I'm confused. You just said the school had an Outstanding Ofsted rating. What are you unhappy about? Do you think the children aren't learning anything, because that's patently not the case. Did you ask the staff what they were doing and why before running back to mumsnet to moan?

Hello OP.

I H.ed and my dd spends more time away from me than when she was schooled. In addition, the none academic advantages of school she is able to access away from school too.
I will agree there is far more scope for learning and she doesn't use an ipad At present she is working through Schofield & Sims Mental Arithmatic, whilst I M.net. She often uses the lap top though.
I think it is good that schools are equipping children to use modern technology.

Yanbu, this annoys me as well. We are by no means technophobes in this house, but I think children do far better in the real world when it comes to learning.

Children hardly need to learn to use iPads - your average 3yo can pick it up in about 2 minutes flat.

Tbh, I worry about their attention span. I know my own concentration has gone downhill since having constant access to tablets etc.

Some teenagers in our family have iPads from school. As far as I can see, they mostly use them for making and editing videos - really basic stuff that doesn't really challenge them at all.

No you and Lady aren't lone voices, I agree with you both. Back in Dec there was the thread about schools abandoning actual teaching for a couple of weeks before Xmas and quite a few people commented on the number of DVDS their children were watching at school.

Anyway, I worry more about the physical effects of so much screen time on children. Experts seem to suggest that screen time should be limited for very young children (can't remember the reasons why) but we have no way of knowing how much of this 'limit' is being used up by school. And there seem to be many more children wearing glasses in dd's school than I remember when I was her age - I wonder whether this is linked to all the computer use.

But as everyone says, all schools tend to be the same so I wouldn't let this affect your choice of school.

Please, people, I'm not saying ipads are evil! I'm just saying that the children already have A LOT of screens in their life, and I think the school should offer other things, and not more of the same!

They have plenty of opportunity to learn hand eye coordination and all the other amazing things they'll learn with ipads, why give more of that at school?

OP, I would be disappointed if I saw this too, so in my opinion YANBU.

DH and I are pretty anti-screen use, and would love nothing more than to send DC's to a school that used blackboard and chalk.

I fear we are in the minority thou.

I have an IPhone but DS 2.5 has only ever seen videos or cousins/himself and photos on there, no apps etc.

He watches TV like any other child but I want him to play I spy when on long car trips, converse at the table when out for dinner, get bored occasionally and when he goes to school learn with more traditional methods.

In the minority clearly but I would choose a technology free school any day. Let me know if you ever find one!

They're not learning to use IPads. As you rightly say, you don't need to 'learn' them.

But the vast number of activities on them make them a fabulous, simple to use, learning tool.

FS children have a fantastic, varied day, with indoor and outdoor activities, carefully planned.

Using an IPad to reinforce something they have been taught is just a very small part of that.

DH and I are pretty anti-screen use, and would love nothing more than to send DC's to a school that used blackboard and chalk.

Why?

It really isn't an either/or situation.

All schools use this technology. But it isn't constant. Your kids aren't dumped in front of an educational video every day, all day.

and when he goes to school learn with more traditional methods.

Yes. And I bet the Victorians wouldn't be impressed that we'd moved on from slates to pen-and-paper...

Can we bring back the cane whilst we're at it?

I'd suggest revisiting the schools at a different time of day and then sending your child to the school with the happiest children.

& what about the kids who don't have ipads/ a lot of screen time at home. Should they not get the chance to develop their "computer" skills at school?

My kids are at primary - P2 & P5. My P2 (she is 6) occasionally uses the one in school for Alphablocks , a maths game & teaching them about 3d shapes & stop go motion.

My P5 (she is 8) uses it in conjunction with the interactive white board - mainly for maths work - fractions, division etc. They also do power point presentation on mainly geography topics.

My kids do a lot of outdoorsy stuff, one in particular does a lot of sport - I still see the point in her doing PE in school.

We used to spend every Friday in school watching Stop, Look & Listen , I am very old

I probably would have agreed with you a year or so ago, but I had a couple of chats with some of the teachers at my kids' school and they made pretty strong arguments in favor of technology. I can't remember what they were (helpful) but they seemed pretty good at the time.

"It's a matter of balance, ..."

Yes. And a balanced view of this school will recognise that you saw only a tiny proprtion of the school's activities, and have no idea how technology is being used in the classroom, only that it is.

But as you don't like this school, it's goid you found out now: at least you can just cross it off your list and put ones you prefer on your application form.

Thecatisatwat, my optician told me that there are more children wearing glasses these days because they don't play outdoors as much as children used to, and therefore their long range vision doesn't develop so well, and so they become short-sighted.

I think it's surprising that schools and nurseries don't use more technology and multi-media. I've worked in lots of pre-schools (as well as schools) where it's hardly ever used.
I think more could be done in this area, especially making use of great screen/TV characters as a way into reading, talking about story lines and characters, and making links between school and home - also getting over the idea that we can watch critically, think about what we see, and discuss with others/ develop our own ideas.

I work in a school, and while we do use interactive whiteboards a lot (they have replaced whiteboards in most classrooms), the children will be doing interactive activities on them. Even if the children were watching something like Rhyme Rocket, the teacher would be pausing the video at certain points to ask the children questions.

So I would indeed be worried if the children were just 'plonked' in front of the screen. How many classrooms did you see? Because if you saw videos in 2 classrooms out of a total of 4, I'd be worried as it suggests the children do spend a lot of time watching. Whereas if you saw 10 classrooms and 2 were watching videos, they probably don't spend that much time watching and it's just a coincidence that you saw them, iykwim.

With regards to the iPads and knowing that a lot of time in reception is free flow, do the teachers have adequate methods of ensuring that children don't spend too long on the iPad? That they do other activities as well? And that all children get a turn? If so, then I wouldn't be worried as it's just one activity of many. If not, I would be concerned as some children do show addictive type behaviour with electronic devices, and so could be spending far too long on them.

DH and I are pretty anti-screen use, and would love nothing more than to send DC's to a school that used blackboard and chalk.

And write on a slate? Crikey, even before IWBs we had OHPs.

Chalk dust isn't good for your lungs, btw.

I was teaching mainly with chalk on blackboard in 1992, and lots of photocopies - wish I'd had my own OHP, or even access to one. Occasionally took the children to watch something in the TV room.

The problem is, OP, that you are making judgements and critisising things that you clearly have no idea of, no experience in, and are not trained in.

What makes you think you are an educational expert and know what is best for children?

Your fears over too much screen time in schools are not bakced up by research. Research has actually shown that interactive technology has very beneficial effects on children's learning.

Not all ipad use is 'easy' and has quick rewards. The programmes I use with my reception children really challenges them and pushes them, and using the ipad motivates them far more than using chalk and slate ever would.

Do some research on these things. Don't be scared or think that childrne are plonked in front of screens to keep them behaving. In an outstanding school that is not likely to be the case.

If Ofsted judged the school outstanding then they must be getting the balance right.

Also, you mentioned sticker charts. They are not really used by teachers as much as they are used by parents. Lots of teachers don't agree with them or use them, or stickers, are rewards.

OP, what would you like to observe, in your ideal school, in the ten minutes that you are taken around a school for?

Because I know when new parents get shown round my school they probably don't spend more than about four minutes in my classroom, before moving on. What happens in any 4 minute period in my reception class is not representative of the whole day.

Don't give up on this school just yet! What else did you see that you did like? What was your overall feeling? Were the staff friendly and, more importantly, did the staff look happy? Were the children happy? Did they seem engaged in whatever they were doing? Was the classroom busy and lively and hectic and vibrant?

they are not getting to watch cbeebies or anything it would be part of their lessons years ago one of the dds class got nintendo ds for a co ordination thinb
g as it helps eye hand / technology isn't evil

On long car journeys (6 hours or so) my three boys (7, 5 and 2) and I play I spy and read and talk - no screens. When having meals out we may take paper and pens and cards to keep occupied, but no screens. They can borrow my ipad after school if good, love their new Wii, watch an hour if TV a night. I fully support technology in the classroom - it's not a screen to occupy them, it's using technology to learn and actively engage.