School Ipad Scheme for Year 7s

[Ratters123]

My kids' school has sent out information regarding a scheme to provide ipads to all yr7&8 pupils with a £16.50/month contribution for 2 years from parents that they would like us to sign up to.
I have asked the school loads of questions about the scheme & how it will work once the pupils are back in school & am waiting for them to come back to me. (How will they be used, what happens if your child doesn't have an ipad, is there a financial benefit to the school if we sign up, security etc etc).
Does anyone have any feedback on schemes they have signed up for with their schools? The provider they are using is GBM and I can't find any reviews on line..

There will be a financial benefit to someone certainly as you can save £100 by buying a new one outright.
Also schools will qualify for educational pricing so the cost to them would be lower still.

In Scotland, chrome books have been provided FREE for children age10+ for several years already (ie pre-Covid19). Knowing that, I'd not be too happy to be asked to pay for something like that. (nor a fan of SNP, but this is a good policy they've introduced).

Because you've spoken about a parental contribution I'm wondering whether this means parents wouldn't own the iPad at the end of the two years...?

My kids school did something like this. I never did it. The kids who had the iPads just played games on them. They couldn't be used for classroom work unless every child had one. So it's a non starter unless the school will provide them for every child whose parents don't pay.

I am very dubious about the value anyway.