To be sick of school directly undermining me

[LainaDelBoy]

I’m at my wits end and really need some external perspective from people outside my local school/council area. (I moved to another part of the UK to raise my children, so this is not the school system I went through myself and isn't an area where there's much school choice - if you're not happy, you pay to go private it seems).

Since starting school at five, DD has routinely used a school-issued iPad (no one told me this would happen). I gradually discovered, mainly through what she told me rather than information from the school, that she had been signed up to all sorts of platforms and apps without me knowing/us being asked to approve.

It seems she has watched YouTube during lessons (I've regularly heard they've done PE on YouTube/"music" I've learned is often a sing along Disney song with the words at the bottom? etc) and come home talking about things seen in adverts. Some of the apps have coins, rewards and "friend" features which was a lovely (!!) sudden introduction to class bullying to deal with. and she's been using AI tools on the thing, but school haven't ever told me what it is/why/and I still don’t know what that tool was.

This week, another mum has just confirmed that the school ipads DO also all have email addresses through which they could message one another (although kids like mine age 5 aren't told the passwords for a couple of years yet - thankfully apaprently).

and tonight she's just come home talking about reading a book at school, only for a few questions later for it to bcome clear that it's not a BOOK book, it's another bloody ebook they scroll through on the ipad.

Stepping back a bit: I feel as though the school and council have taken away my ability to manage how much screen time my DD gets, while telling me I have "no legal right to opt out" of so much screentime at school when I asked about toning it down last year (I didn't ask for specifics, I just asked about the messaging stuff, and how much time they were on the iPad for typically).

We game a lot as a family (consoles/etc so i'm not anti-screens generally), but i just feel like there's a constant barrage of poorly done apps, videos and AI without clear limits or safeguards in her classrom. I don't know if it's like this in all schools.

In the UK, would you consider this "normal" or acceptable? Have other parents successfully asked for reduced digital screen learning/alternatives? AIBU to keep challenging it (the council are quite adament that their policy has zero flex)?

I don't know where to go from here and i don't want to be "that parent" but there are so many red flags here but i don't know if to keep pushing on it?

The school will have informed you of learning tools, you can absolute withdraw your dd and put a placement request for another school, or home Ed, children using technology isn't the evil you assume educators will have all the information about screens.

Watching with interest

I think that this is how things are now though, op

No I wouldn’t like this too. My son is 5 and they mainly use whiteboards but do use iPads for numbots. I think your only option is to change schools

At our school they definitely had CBeebies on in reception sometimes (Numberblocks and Alphablocks) so I assume they've watched things since, but the first app login they're doing as far as I know is this week, when he has entered year 3. I'm pretty sure they've not used YouTube and there's definitely been no messaging function on an iPad. Do you know any parents of other schools in the area? Just wondering if there is a school locally using them less if that's what you want. They're not going to give your child alone an alternative so you're not going to get anywhere with that avenue.

I would like to think this isn’t typical at all! My primary school age children are always bringing home stuff they’re made and we can see their exercise books and reading books so still seems like traditional learning with mainly physical resources. I would not want them to have their own device so completely understand your frustration.

@LainaDelBoy How much screen time would you say your daughter has at home?

Well that seems like too much screen time to me! My DD old school was similar- constant tv, YouTube yoga, tv at end of day- why can’t they just read a book like we did at school.
it is important to have tech literacy, but I was frustrated with nursery and school when they’d already watched a good amount of tv and then I felt bad when I put it on at home! But maybe I’m unreasonable in that

I don’t think this is typical. A sing along to a YouTube song for a rainy day, sure. But not constant use of an iPad or reading books on there. Ask them their policy

I don't think this is typical either. And with YouTube, surely they should be using a paid-for version so there are no ads? It's only about £12 a month I think? I don't see the difference between watching a YouTube video and a TV video - except for the ads. And the messaging shouldn't be switched on at all.

The one good thing OP is that the social media ban is coming in and although there will be exceptions for education (the devil will be in the detail) the local authority/schools will have to reassess what they are doing. In your shoes I would monitor the announcements from Ofcom and the government, and then contact the school/council again with concerns once we know more about what the new rules will contain (there was another announcement yesterday).

I've never really tried to monitor it too much, we don't have a TV in any room apart from the living room so i'd say about 30-45mins of TV at night (when she gets home from school after changing/homework but before dinner, kids cartoons which one of us watches the first half with them before heading off to make dinner next door), and then we typically have a family game on the console at least once every weekend. so we definitely have screentime daily at home, if you include TV, and once a week we do racing games etc for about an hour.

BUT we don't have the kids with smartphones, i thought that would be a battle i'd have to look forward to when they got to 10 or 11, NOT 5 and 6 😂

That's also why i haven't given them a tablet or anything - it's a battle with screentime that i just didn't want to have yet

I think its the way things are. My dc are uni age now, and even they had I Pads at primary school. I know because I was on the PTA doing the fundraising to get some. You have to get ahead, find some keeping up with the kids type resources, so you understand and can supervise home I Pad use. Ask school for an information evening explaining how, what and why they are using screens. Honestly, if you don't let them keep up they get left behind.
Emailing won't come in until later, the teachers will email or upload resources, and if they are doing their jobs properly will have spy apps installed, so they can track activity.
Edited to say, we didn't allow tech upstairs. No phones, TV, I Pads, Laptops in bedrooms, only in the family areas of the homes. Passwords were always shared.

This happened at our school. Suddenly my year 2 was handed an iPad. Every single piece of work is done on the iPads. The whole school is in special measures for handwriting.
There is no alternative school.
That child has gone on to an amazing secondary school, where they automatically enroll kids from that primary, into a handwriting intervention.
The primary school had the gall to invite me to a “play” session where they gave a presentation about “children these days have too much screen time, averaging 5 hours a
day” but when questioned, they didn’t understand my screen time objections over their iPad use….

Oxford Reading Tree for example have books online that the child can read, or listen to and be asked recall and comprehension questions. It means that they engage more deeply with the texts than on their own on the occasions that the teacher or TA isn't reading one to one with them.

Make sure she has access to plenty of real books at home.

I don't think that's necessarily true - teachers are busy people and don't have time to pore over research reports and new government initiatives. They just do what their SLT tells them.

And the OP has said she lives in a part of the UK (Scotland?) where you go to your nearest school and there's not a lot of choice so she can't just move schools.

We were told that in this council area kids get their own dedicated iPad from age 8 upwards.that's what the council website/enrolment information says. that's one of the reasons i was so shocked when DD came home in first year (age 5) telling me all about these coin games and asking to "friend" kids in the class with a code they have to give out.

there's a huge difference betweenw hat they say is happening vs. what seems to be happening though.

I think your reaction is completely OTT.

it's another bloody ebook they scroll through on the ipad.
But ebooks are books. Reading them is still reading them. Yes, there's value to tangible books for reading too, but I assume she does that as well.

As long as the overall environment has plenty of active play, discussion, use of physical resources and outdoor time, as well as the online / e-resources like YouTube, e-books and similar, I don't see a problem.

I always try to focus on the purpose and learning need - screens in themselves are not 'bad', it's disproportionately spending time on the screen, at the loss of another skill or useful task, with a negative outcome, that is the issue.

Not typical and incredibly poor, lazy teaching.

I would absolutely be ‘that’ parent and scrutinising everything that was happening as well as challenging the school on their methods. I’d be livid about books on an iPad rather than physical books with pages. I’d also be looking for an alternative school.

first year was last year, DD was 5 when she started (apparently it's a couple of years before they get the email passwords, supposedly - i've had to ask for clarification as I was worried she would be able to access it)

Its very sad to hear. The research on technology in the classroom is 100% clear. An increase in technology correlates to a lowering of average outcomes.

To be honest, in education research/academic circles, "An IPAD for every child!" is so 2010s... it feels dated now as an idea, because its proven time and time again to be ineffective. More and more schools, as well as nations are pushing back away from the blanket application of apps and technology in learning.

There is still a place for specialized technology classes, and digital boards, educational videos etc. But individual "learning" on devices at a young age, in class time, is ineffective teaching and nothing more.

Tell the school to do a bit of research into why Sweden has returned schools to reading books on paper.

If she doesn't get to read books on paper, move schools.

There’s new legislation out for reception children that they shouldn’t have more than an hours screen time a day. So go in and question it.