'Edugate' - is this standard?

[MooMummyMoo]

My DD has just started reception at SS. On her first day of school she came home with lots of paperwork, but including information promoting a scheme called 'edugate' - where basically you can pay a monthly fee to have an iPad which the school will use with your child and it will also be sent home with them for use there.

Has anyone done this? Is this a standard thing in schools nowadays?

My first thought was that if she needs this sort of equipment for her education then the school/authorities should provide it?

Other thoughts are:
Would the school actually use it if you provided the iPad? Is it scheduled in to their timetable for your child?

If you don't provide one then what happens?

Can't we just send her in with the one she uses at home?

I don't know. If this is a standard thing that happens in school then we could do it, I just wondered what other people did/their experiences.

Has any had any dealings with this sort of thing before??

I've heard of it before. DS2's school have their own set of iPads. It's not like they're really all that useful for working on and storing work - a laptop is cheaper and more powerful AND easier to use, there.

Basically, someone is making a profit out of this. I don't see how it can be much use to the school, because it's not like you can timetable the use of something that not every pupil has access to.

Ouryve, that's exactly it, I don't understand really how they'd use them. Equally though I don't want my DD to miss out if she didn't have one