Does your children's primary school have iPads?

[RedRobyn2021]

Really shocked to learn today that the primary school in our catchment gives children iPads from reception

Is this the norm now?

Why are schools doing this when we have been told screen time should be avoided?

Doesn't WHO say no more than an hour a day, less is better for under 5s? Yet 4yos are being given iPads?

Equating using a technological tool and resource with mindless screen time is a key issue.

The iPads will be used to source references for literacy, projects, visualise mathematical problems. They aren't watching Fortnite.

Literacy is now classed worldwide as reading, writing and digital. Learning in a supervised environment with controlled devices is an advantage to children.

Ours have MacBooks but they’re a school not individual resources. They rotate them round the classes- there’s at least 30 so they def have one each but not that much time each week

There has to be a balance and I do think some schools over-use. I’ve got one in reception and one in y3. Reception child has never mentioned using them. The y3 child uses laptops for specific IT lessons and they do workshops in coding. I’ve got really mixed feelings around some of the apps like rock stars and spelling shed. They are much more visually appealing than a pen and paper but I’m not as convinced that my daughter engages her brain fully when using them:

During lockdown the school had a subscription to online reading books and while it was something to keep things going, they were in no way as appealing as a real book for my 4yo.

@Bunnycat101 I think it is potentially child dependent. My dd who really struggles with spelling definitely benefits from spellingshed - some of the games make her think about the word and its components in a different way, and I have noticed that she retains more and does better on her weekly quiz when we have used the app throughout the week in addition to written practice. For her twin, the app makes no/minimal difference and is just a slightly more fun way of doing her homework.

Offering a variety of platforms and methods increases the odds that learning needs are met and children are engaged. Some children struggle with traditional presentation, and the functionality of apps allows children to interact with the content in different ways - for my dd the game where she unscrambles letters helps her focus on that bit in isolation, and I think it is an important intermediary step for her when learning her spelling. I could replicate that process off line if I were to cut out and assemble letters for her, but so much easier via app.

there is some really dreadful content out there masquerading as educational, but everything we have been offered from school has been carefully considered and first and foremost centres the educational objectives (rather than being mostly a fun game that might incidentally offer learning). But I do see that my two children use them and benefit from them to different degrees, so I think it is fine to take a stance on what approach is best for your child. I just wouldn’t write off online learning entirely without giving it a go, as it might be a really valuable tool for your child.

For anyone who is interested in this topic I've just listened to this podcast with Kate Silverstone, they start talking about screens about half way through the podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/happy-place/id1353058891?i=1000649518688

Personally, I think a parent who isn't questioning this stuff is pretty crazy - not me! There is no evidence that providing screens in schools to work on is benefiting our children. My friend choosing to let her child of SIX (that's right, 6 years old and the school want her learning to be done on a screen wtaf) learn using pen and paper and books is perfectly reasonable and actually good on her, because it's not easy to challenge the school and do what is absolutely best for her child.

I find the comments about being a chimney sweep speak for themselves really, utterly ridiculous. You sound like a fab parent 👏

I find the comments about being a chimney sweep speak for themselves really, utterly ridiculous. You sound like a fab parent 👏

Wow that's rude OP! The PP has a good point that most jobs require the use of screens and technology. Though I would think even chimney sweeps need this too now!!

The schools will be using tablets for educational purposes and know what they're doing. I wouldn't purposely let my child get left behind by some misinformed opinion that all screens are evil.

It’s fine to query screens and how they are used, but at 6 (so y1?) there is a real responsibility to start teaching technology and your friend is doing the child a disservice if she is allowed no exposure. It isn’t just about knowing how to use devices, but also how to use them safely. Think about it like knife skills - I wouldn’t hand a young child a chef’s knife, let alone use it unsupervised, but if you never let them handle sharp objects they will never learn how. You start with tools appropriate for their age/skill, do a lot of talking about safety, lots of supervision and build independence over time. At some point there is an expectation that the child will be technologically fluent in order to complete school work, engage socially, and later on work - what is your friend’s plan for making that happen if they reject the school’s approach?

Generally speaking half the class will be working on screens at any given time as this is a core part of learning now.

My DD has used ipads and computers throughout primary as she has dyslexia. She has learned to read, write, spell and count via specialist apps.

Additionally in Scotland chromebooks are being rolled out for every child. They haven't landed everywhere yet but both my primary and secondary school children have theirs.

The ridiculous (and very rude) one here is you, you're the one questioning iPads in schools in 2024 with friends requesting pen and paper. I've never mentioned on here before as there's been no need (and I hate bragging but needs must) my son was head boy right through school and sixth form due to his exceptional academic performance with a mix of screen and pen and paper, so yes, thank you, I have been a fab parent - I'll take that.

Learn some manners, stop being foolish and read the bloody room.

An op who has ‘done her research’ !!!!! Quick everyone take note ! Never mind the teachers and leaders who are qualified in education and have done the job for years

Obviously information transmitted via light from an external source is superior to information transmitted directly by a light source. Why would the information itself matter.

Learning has never been the same since the move away from mark making on the walls of caves using natural resources like berries and leaves

They are using them for educational activities! It's not like the school are letting them watch YouTube or Bluey on them! It's a great learning tool and one they will use daily as they get older!

Cannot see a problem with it!

This, they come out on specific occasions for a specific task, and then they go away again. It isn’t one per child, and they aren’t handed out and taken home on D1 so no five year old is deprived of YouTube.

By refusing to let your child use technology you will be hindering them.

The school won’t be stopping them learning to write, so there’s no need to worry about that. They are an educational tool for things like scratch to learn coding. Being able to research and use technology to learn to code is really important so I don’t understand why anyone would be against this.

If you have concerns talk to the school and let them show you how they use iPads etc alongside other teaching methods.

I wouldn’t be stopping a child from having access in the correct settings.

I’m in Wales and schools use iPads and chrome books from nursery onwards. It’s part of the Welsh curriculum ( Digital Competence Framework) and has to be taught by law.

Reason #629307328 we are glad to be home educating

Reason 7 gazillion why I'm not.

Yet you are on a social media platform boasting about not using technology.

Its a tool, like everything else.

One of the schools my kids went to gave kids an iPad to use at home and school in the juniors - think they've since stopped that for various reasons.

Having said that - DD2 used to take her iPad into school to work on in the infants - she was very severely dyspraxic and her ability to get the great thoughts in her head onto paper was really holding her back - so we agreed with school that she could take her ipad in, use an app we had that let her photograph worksheets and then type directly onto them (Snaptype if anyone's looking) and then she'd print her work off at home and return it to the teacher to mark. Meant she could actually reflect her true ability rather than being held back by her motor skills - and it's not delayed her, because as she's got older her ability to handwrite's improved no end but it helped a very frustrated little girl out at the time.

These days the class teacher tends to send all the parents a photograph of any worksheets or letters that have come home and DD chooses to just fill in the worksheet directly on her iPad (using an apple pencil) and send it back electronically. Considering her general ability to lose pieces of paper - this is more DD-proof. Plus it saved me a fortune in printer ink during the lockdown home learning hell!

I'm a 47 year old woman. Not a 4 year old kid. I also have a sm problem! Admittedly!

If I smoked, I wouldn't want my kids to smoke would I? Same thing with screens. I absolutely do not want my kid on screens.

Pen and paper are tools. Books are tools. Ipads are harmful. Source WHO.

@SwordToFlamethrower so you think the technology that allowed my dyslexic child to not only catch up with her peers, but actually move into the top sets at Secondary school as her actually ability can be reflected, was harmful to her?

I genuinely believe you are making life difficult for your child by not allowing screens for educational purposes.

The inability to distinguish education from everyday use isn’t great. Things like coding are such an important of a lot of jobs now and by not allowing screen use you are really just making life difficult for your child.

Completely agree as I posted earlier on the thread specialist apps enabld and supported my dyslexic daughter in reading, writing, spelling and maths.

Pen, paper and books as tools were of no use to her until she learned using digital tools like ipads.

The opposite of harm.

Yes, even simple things like changing fonts and colours can make such a difference to some dyslexics. We use them for EAL students - a language app translating everything the teacher says.

I worked at a primary school up till 2022 and some of the answers on here are baffling to me. In my experience 95% of the work was done old school style. Occasionally (like once a fortnight) the laptops would be whipped out for an IT lesson (from year two onwards) no different from the paints occasionally being whipped out for art lessons. The atlases for geography etc.
Not much had changed since I went to primary school in the 00s.
The older kids did do maths homework on times table rockstars. That was it really.

Regarding the replies on here how the hell does a school afford an iPad for every child?? Can't be cheap and they must get broken a lot.
I agree with your sentiment btw op.