My son has just broke school computer!

[Gatesy007]

Hi everyone.
My son is in his second week of reception and today I’ve been informed that he ‘might’ have been responsible for smashing the screen on an expensive iMac monitor. The teacher was very kind about it and explained she did not witness it but a couple of the other children said it was my son. To say I’m mortified is an understatement!
I have asked my son who is still protesting his innocence but I think he probably is guilty.
So what do I do? I offered to buy a replacement and was told by the teacher not to worry. But I know it’s a new one. I really can’t afford to buy a new one but feel like I should. What would you do??
Help!
Thanks in advance

[PhilomenaButterfly]

As a pp said, to take the register to operate the white board. Also, from nursery, my DC were given access to the computer to learn how to use it. Even now, the majority of jobs use computers.

[Norestformrz]

No you're not the only one ...especially as my ancient school laptop finally died and it's replacement is an old reconditioned ideapad

[mathanxiety]

Norestformrz
"Whatever about it being 'good practice' to allow children to access an iMac independently" that's a bit like saying you shouldn't have an expensive TV in your house because a child might accidentally break it. Having a computer in the room doesn't equate to allowing children to access it independently. Have you any experience of a reception class.

It's not a bit like not having an expensive TV in my house because a child might accidentally break it. I don't have 30+ children running around my sitting room with three inch metal bolts at their disposal.

And clearly one of the children in the reception class was able to access the iMac independently and without the knowledge of the teacher, who freely admits she has no idea how the screen got broken.

There are many alternatives to three inch metal bolts that are far less likely to poke someone's eye out or crack a tooth on or break a window or a screen, that can also function as hand eye co-ordination enhancers, matching exercises, and counting objects.

[Norestformrz]

"three inch metal bolts at their disposal." Did the OP say three inch metal bolts? It only takes one child with a heavy toy ...I well remember a friend's child throwing a Corgi car through their television screen. Irresponsible parent? I don't think so ...accidents happen.

[SnuggyBuggy]

Why do you need a 3 inch metal bolt in a primary school classroom? That's asking for trouble.

[Soontobe60]

TBH, the teacher has probably had a grilling from the Head about how this could have happened. And the Head may need to justify to the governors how it could have happened! This is a significant amount of money that will come from an already stretched budget.
Lesson learned: don't buy expensive hardware when something much cheaper would have done the same job; don't use heavy metal nuts in school ( after all, the broken thing could have been another child's head) and have eyes in the back of your head when in the presence of a large group of five year olds!!!

[CarlGrimesMissingEye]

@GoatYoga actually, if it's just the glass smashed you can replace the front of the monitor and the internals would be ok, depends how bad the damage is. My DH has done it on ours before now after an 'incident'.

[GoatYoga]

@CarlGrimesMissingEye - good to know - I am very protective of ours!

[CarlGrimesMissingEye]

@GoatYoga tell me about it. I love having our mac but it's such an expensive piece of kit!

[GrimSqueaker]

If you're freaked out by a metal bolt - don't come down to our school's reception when they're doing woodwork with hammers, nails and saws on bits of wood then!

My step father asked if they were using child-safe nails... I was like, "you mean like made of rubber or something" ...."yes, safety ones".... "how do you think they'd go into the wood exactly?!"

[Norestformrz]

Snuggybuggy we don't know if the three inch metal bolt actually exists or mathanxiety made it up

[Norestformrz]

The teacher has probably had the resources in the class for years without incident.
I've had a plasma ball in my class for ten years until this week when a child decided to throw it ...

[SnuggyBuggy]

I can understand the need for hammers and nails in a woodwork lesson. I really can't understand the need for a 3 inch metal bolt for counting when just about any object can be counted.

[Norestformrz]

"I can understand the need for hammers and nails in a woodwork lesson" they aren't part of a woodwork lesson, in most reception classes they are continuous provision

[Aragog]

With a Mac the workings of the computer are in the screen too. So actually this will probably be better than if it was just a normal screen. It may well be worthwhile claiming on the insurance. When I had a child stamp on an iPad in temper it wasn't replaced as the excess made it no viable - so it just wasn't replaced. We couldn't afford to do so.

As for a computer in a classroom bear children - have you been in a classroom? Of course they are within reach. The teaching staff need constant access to the computer, interactive whiteboard etc.

Constant supervision? With 30 children and just 1 it 2 teaching staff? Good luck with that.

By 4 we teach and expect our children to not damage things deliberately, but do accept sometimes accidents can occur. Throwing items across a room we would speak to a child about this as it's not acceptable behaviour for a classroom. So yes, we'd speak to them in an age appropriate way, and let parents know too.

[Aragog]

Apple have decent education discounts for schools, and there are other grants available to work with then. They also have a longer life span in general from what I've gathered. Our school windows machines need far more maintenance than the one Mac I've got in school (need one to manage and supervise all the iPads we've got.)

[ConfusedMum82]

Op, please don't worry and also, it's not always the case that others in the class blaming one child is true.
DD was in year 1, many years ago. Teacher brought in a book with art made from rolled pieces of coloured paper stuck in, think it was Japanese. She allowed the class to pass it round without supervising and with her back to them. DD had the book shoved in front of her, and another child had pulled it to bits. Of course the teacher turns round, sees the book, sees it in front of Dd and goes mental. Two others said it was DD. We had so much grief over it-teachers mum used to volunteer and I had her behind me deliberately bad mouthing DD to other parents. Throughout, DD was adamant it wasn't her. School in the end said she needed to own up or she would be suspended. She still said no, it wasn't her.
Two weeks afterwards, the culprits mum called school and said her ds was so upset with how awful the teacher was being to DD that they had owned up. They had picked at a loose bit of the paper and it fell to bits. Yet he was one of the teo eho swore blind at the time it was DD.
Never got so much as an apology.
If kids feel they are going to be in trouble they can and will lie to save their skin.

[RustyBear]

When I worked in IT support at a junior school, we had an iMac to manage and sync the class sets of iPads, 16 at a time. When I retired last year it was still going strong after nearly 7 years, with none of the drop in performance the Windows PCs experienced, so it’s proved a better investment.

It may have been in the classroom to get maximum use out of it, it may have been in the IT suite and the school is having to use that as a classroom, it may have been being used by the teacher or any number of reasons to be there.

And as for being broken by a metal bolt, one of our class laptops once got broken when someone threw a rubber across the room...

[SnuggyBuggy]

Well Ieaving kids with heavy objects and fragile screens and minimal supervision is just daft. I wouldn't pay to replace it.

[Norestformrz]

Lots of heavy objects in a typical early years classroom. Wooden blocks, metal cars, chairs (yes I've had a chair thrown by a four year old in reception) small world toys, role play toys, water toys, construction toys ...perhaps we should just have empty rooms or only sift toys

[SnuggyBuggy]

Or just collect in the heavy objects before getting out the fragile screens

[Norestformrz]

There's normally a fragile screen as a permanent fixture attached to the wall called an Interactive White Board attached to another fragile screen called a computer/laptop.

[SnuggyBuggy]

Yes an only a fucking idiot would let the kids near it whilst they were using a 3 inch metal bolt

[Norestformrz]

The OP never mentioned a three inch bolt (that's Mathanxiety's number) so perhaps we shouldn't guess or assume P they were near the screen.

[mathanxiety]

@Norestformrz

Gatesy007 Sat 15-Sep-18 09:17:39
Thanks everyone for your comments. I feel a bit better about it now. It was apparently hit with a large metal bolt ( about 3 inches long) which they use for counting.

You don't read too well, do you?