Do schools need ipads

[CrownCoats]

My daughter’s primary school wants to fundraise for a handful iPads for each classroom. I believe they want to use them for IT lessons and to allow kids to further research the topics that they are studying.

Is this normal for primary schools in the UK? Is IT really best taught on a tablet? My first instinct was that screens have no place in the classroom. Would be interested to hear what others think.

How do you mean? Both real and iPad geoboards? They will almost certainly have used real geoboards to some point in eyfs or year 1. But I only have a couple of weeks with an hour's maths lesson a day to get through everything to do wtih 2d and 3d shapes that they need to learn in year 2. It's not possible to do everything in every way - so I make choices about how best to do things. They will in fact be learning to draw shapes by hand with a ruler tomorrow, but using the iPad to do the verbal mathematical reasoning work means that they aren't having to focus on too many different skills at once.

Our school teaches computing skills from reception- not a daily thing, but maybe a session a week. part of that includes internet safety and learning from an early age how to evaluate information you find online (what is trustworthy, what is not). It will be critical for them to navigate tech competently and safely, and I am very appreciative of our school for embedding these opportunities so early.

on the send front it can also be transformative - for one of my dc with a learning difference we use the iPad much more extensively to help them access content they otherwise would struggle with. Currently teaching typing in anticipation of them getting a laptop for use in the classroom on a more regular basis. I was very anti screen at home, but in their situation access to screens is the equivalent of giving a kid with poor vision glasses.

For a different topic, I might make different choices about how best to teach it. When traching subtracting, we would use physjcal respurces belfre learning to record it, rather than the ipad. The iPad have tools on them, and they can be very useful, but not for everything.

Pretty normal, they are useful and a great way to include tech in learning. Not all screens are bad and they will still do other types of learning.
Technology like tablets will be a big part of children's lives so why not include it in primary education.

My kids school use them from year 1 onwards. Yr2 kids use them pretty independently and upload pictures of their work straight to dojo. They still do plenty of written work alongside this plus PE and forest school etc. From yr3 they have their own which we can either buy outright or pay £10 per month for.

I'm happy about this tbh. Both of my kids still have great handwriting and pen skills but are also pretty tech literate which is important.

They are an unbelievably brilliant teaching tool.

We use them to support children with phonics, arithmetic, computing (obv) in day to day lessons.

They also support children who may be working at an EYFS level in Y5 or Y6 to record their ideas verbally if reading / writing is an issue.

They support children with a visual impairment.

They are amazing as a visualiser - showing the children a practical task or someone's work on the interactive board.

They can be used to quiz children or assess their understanding.

The kids aren't just watching YouTube on them. They are a truly brilliant resource if used effectively.

Well, others on this thread have suggested 15 per class. If it’s a 2x form entry school that would be 200 iPads. And 200 iPads cost a lot more than a paint job or some PE equipment. It’s a cost that wouldn’t have been incurred 10 years ago. And 10 years ago schools had more money.

I think that was me, and I absolutely didn't mean 15 per class. I meant 15 total. To be used by different classes at different times. We have a schedule where each class has a time they have priority, but you can ask the class with priority at any other time to use them.

You misread the post. The poster actually said get a class set of 15 which can be booked out not 15 per class. No one has suggested getting a set per class even private primary schools are unlikely to have that.

Out of curiosity what do you think they should be fundraising for instead?

DDs primary school had a tablet per child (not Ipads though). The school was part of some international research into learning techniques, so had funding from that and a very active PTA.

Despite this, they didn't use them all the time.! They had multiple exercise books full of writing, they had physical reading books, they had games etc in the classroom, a forest school and outdoor classroom. It was literally just another tool.

For example... they could do maths practice for 15 minutes (times tables, arithmetic etc) and it was marked instantly. They could do quizzes on whatever book they had been reading. They could research something, or find a picture to print out.

They're very helpful for kids with additional needs. They can dictate longer pieces of work to make sure they get their creative ideas down without the stress of spelling. For others it's a lifesaver to have their own mini version of the whiteboard directly in front of them rather than struggling to see the board at a tricky angle. It saves all the extra effort of copying out for kids with dyslexia for example. They can also upload their work directly to an app like Seesaw. If they've made an array of counters in maths, quick photo and bam, evidence of learning. We also use them to upload pics of artwork etc for parents to see on the parent app. Your dc will def be doing many other elements of handwriting, motor skills etc throughout the day. The tablets compliment the learning rather than replacing essential skills.

My mistake. Although two other posters have suggested they have one iPad per child, which seems excessive.

Anyway, this has given me a lot of food for thought.

My children go to an Apple established school so they are all given an iPad from reception onwards. They do the majority of their work on them!

This thread not getting the traction you were hoping for , eh, @CrownCoats

I've been teaching since 2009 and the first school I worked in had ipods to support learning. My current school ( state) has a set of 30 either Chromebooks or iPads for each year group. Upper KS2 has one per child.
We use them often; yesterday I had the children doing an online quiz for assessment (more eco-friendly and way more fun) that I generated using AI tools. They make presentations and carry out research, they can access homework and resources online too. They learn coding. It's 2025, they need to be computer savvy.

Are you living at the same planet as me? Are you not looking around you and seeing that touchscreens are literally everywhere?! I work in a multinational company and we are going paperless and we are behind the times!!. Other companies similar to us are already paperless. We use touch screens in several parts of our day, in several ways! children need to learn about the paper method and the touchscreen method/tech methods.

Out of interest do you also do activities for the manual trades people of the future whose skills are in wanting things around?

My kids school has 30 iPads. Each class has a half day with them. That leaves 4.5 school days for manual learning.

In our local primary, every child buys their own. Used daily for lessons and then taken home for homework.

In our DS (2 form entry)school there is a chrome book for every child and also 30 iPads per year group. The PTA bought the iPads for the school.

I follow the curriculum, like any other teacher. That tells me what skills and knowledge I have to teach the children. So yes, we teach design and technology, where children might be creating things with moving parts, for example. I don't use iPads with them all the time.

Again, it's choosing the best tool for what I am trying to teach them.

OP you are still looking at technology like a 'nice to have' rather than what it is which is a very standard and normal tool that every child needs to master.

I'm actually amazed that anyone young enough to have a 7 year old doesn't realise this.

You may not know but by the time your 7 year old is in senior school, all their communication with regards to work submission, homework etc will be electronic.
Much of the work is done on programs and submitted. By the time your child is sitting a-levels chances are they will all be electronic

My primary school in the 90s was a pilot school for tech with a full class set of mac computers in the ICT room. The secondary school we moved on to was also part of the pilot scheme, and I'm not surprised that a significant number of my peers now hold high paid tech jobs in silicon valley.

Schooling should be preparing children for the world they will be living and working in, which includes technology and screen time.

Our school had a massive fundraiser for iPads but for a school with 360 pupils it wasn't that great. They were on a trolley so each class had a timetabled slot when they could use them.
Trying to get 28 P2s to log on and use them with no support was an absolute nightmare and most of the session was wasted.
I'd far rather each class got 4-6 that were used by fast finishers to provide further activities.