to say "No way am I buying the Chromebook"??

[xaos]

DD is Y7 in an inde school, they're introducing chromebooks - compulsory. only device allowed in school. the chromebook will be restricted by their device policies so dd can't install anything, it's also going to be screen monitored by a product ALL THE TIME. killer? They are wanting us parents to buy them from the school at £650! No payment plans. Nothing. they can't even tell me how many hours they're using this device for in lessons per week.
my DD already has a macbook and iPad that she does her homework on and stuff when she's at home.

AIBU to not buy it?

That seems very expensive for a chromebook. They're meant to be a cheap option. I got a refurbished basic one for less than £200 I'm sure

theyre "high end" apparently....

Not really answering your aibu but if they are requiring Chromebooks they should surely allow cheaper options. I'd struggle to find one that expensive

www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/st/refurbished-google-chromebook-laptops

Eldest DC schol did this but they were £250 with a ten month payment plan available and school covered the costs for specific children (LAC, FSM, and any children with SEN who had technology use indicated as a support measure).

You need to speak to school about it and see what alternatives are in place, what they're doing about people who can't/won't pay, etc. I can guarantee that won't be the only one as £650 is ridiculous.

Lots of schools have a BYO on devices now - it’s very difficult to teach across different platforms so she’ll find it difficult to use an iPad.

Ridiculous price though - and a payment plan is definitely an option at my DC’s school, but it’s not private so couldn’t do it any other way.

honest, it's not the cost that bugs me most, it's the restrictions and monitoring. she has a laptop already why am i buying a crapper less useful device that restricted and monitored.

Isn't expensive nonsense like this what you sign up to when you send your DC to an independent school?

Nope, not a chance I'd agree to that.

I'd also be unhappy with my child travelling to and from school with such an expensive piece of kit.

A chromebook doesn't cost £650 - that's mad.

If they want a piece of kit that can only be used for school work then the school should be supplying it. My son's school requires the students have an iPad which they link to the school LAN during school time, or remotely for homework. But it can be used outside of school work without restriction.

YANBU but I suppose an independent school can do this and expect it to be paid for. Might be worth digging around to see if any other parents are unhappy/reluctant.

My twos school have done it, £300 to buy it from the school or a payment plan.
I found the same one for £120 delivered and covered it on the house insurance.

the school have had an incredibly low uptake so it’s not viable for anyone to use them in lessons.

im not surprised there’s a low uptake, it’s a lot of money. Especially when lots have newish laptops because of lockdown schools.

Oh mine aren’t at an independent school.

Ask why it has to be that model.

Ask if they are getting commission for this.

£650 for a Chromebook is nuts. I bought mine because they're the cheap option. I paid less than £200 from new. They should pay if they lock it for school use and monitor everything.

The absolute cheek of them. Hell no.

My youngest has a Chromebook for school, you can add personal accounts for home use though and it was a lot cheaper than £650 - with a payment plan of about £5 a week!

I'd absolutely refuse, wouldn't be able to stump up £650 anyway, but certainly not for a Chromebook and especially not for a restricted Chromebook.
If it was our school I know they'd be piling the guilt onto the kids, as "everyone" would have one, you'll fall behind without one.
We've just had a nightmare with DD's laptop, it's broken, we were getting her a new one, but nearer Xmas. The school has loan laptops, but we weren't in the right income bracket to access one, even though we only needed it for a month or so. The school makes it very difficult fir kids to access work, if they don't have computer access. But DD had to go without. The whole technology thing with schools is ridiculous.

At my son's primary each child had a chromebook but they were supplied by the school and kept at school in locked cabinets - they weren't permitted to take them home.

My son's secondary had a payment plan (including insurance and support) for the iPad but it was way more expensive so we just bought our own. Lots of parents do buy through the school though as they want the support element. Not everyone is IT savvy. Son's schools are both state schools.

Our school did this with compulsory iPads, found it very annoying and still do.

However we've lost/broken three of them so the price (with insurance!) does at least grate less. Plus their bags are genuinely lighter as all textbooks are on there.

I'd actually forgotten, but when I was on the PTA at a primary school, we were raising money for laptops. The price of the laptops we were buying was ridiculous, when we queried it the HT said she had no choice, they had to buy from a certain supplier. This was about 8yrs ago, not sure if things have changed.

Our school requires identical computers of everyone and yes there is nanny software. It’s really not much different than a work issued laptop. The difference at our school is that they are just issued to each student. We do have to sign something making us liable for damages. None of it is optional. The computers are completely integrated into the curriculum. The kids can’t do their work without them. Refusing to let your kid have one would be like telling a computer programmer to do their job with a pencil and yellow legal pad.

the price is ridiculous. Your child is the one who has to deal with the consequences of you deciding to take a stand on this though. You won’t be the one in the classroom day to day.

This ^^

I'd have no issues if it was issued to them for "free" but I balk at paying for a shit device when DD already has a better device.

I understand why schools are going down this route. It’s getting easier and easier to hack systems, and having a system just for school work does on the face of it sounds sensible.

But £650 No No No

a brand new 15” Chromebook (128gb memory) was delivered to a friend from Curry’s this weekend, for the princely sum of £250.

The 14” version was £230

there was versions starting just over £100, but I maybe the “mechanics” of them are slower, or Google aren’t topping up until 2030 on some models.

The £250 one looks very good, you tube is good to watch etc etc.

Maybe they are charging more for “admin costs” who knows.

If the school told you a minimum of running speed/memory/screen size you need, I could understand that, but to tell you - you HAVE to a certain model and that’s that is wrong - very wrong.

Not a snowballs chance in hell. If the school demands them then the school pays. Who the hell can magic 650 quid out of nowhere!!