1:1 Digital Devices
At Princethorpe College, we aim to provide a caring, stimulating environment in which children’s individual needs can be met and their talents, confidence and self-esteem developed.
Fundamental to this is allowing children to be independent, organised, collaborative and inquisitive learners, who are ready to flourish both at the College and beyond it. Effective use of digital tools is key to this in the modern world, and as a school, we adopt a blended learning approach which allows children to develop their literacy in both the digital and analogue realms.
Key to this is access to the digital tools that allow this blended learning approach to flourish and allow for engaging, interactive and stimulating learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom. By ensuring that all Princethorpe College pupils have access to an appropriate digital device both in the classroom and beyond the classroom, we can provide a seamless learning experience which promotes and develops the 21st century skills that the children need while also allowing for the best possible learning experience in the here and now.
All pupils at Princethorpe College use a device at school every day. We run the Digital Device Scheme to allow parents to rent or purchase a Lenovo touchscreen device through our partner, Easy4U (Class Technology Solutions), including a device assurance package.
We strongly encourage all incoming pupils to use the Digital Device Scheme, allowing us to provide true 1:1 device use. This helps ensure that all pupils have a device that both meets all of their classroom needs, is consistent with the devices of their peers and insured against any damage or theft. 
Where pupils already have a suitable device, we can also support the use of these in school.
The Digital Device Scheme is launched to new Year 7 pupils, as well as pupils joining in older year groups, in the Trinity Term prior to starting and devices are distributed at the start of the Michaelmas Term, ready to use from the start of the school year. Pupils in all year groups can also make use of the Digital Device Scheme at any time.
What is the digital Device Scheme?
The College offers the Digital Device Scheme, supported by Class Technology and the Easy4U Service, to provide a digital device for all pupils. The device cost (including accidental damage and theft insurance) is funded by parents via either 36-month rental or one-off purchase, and payment is made directly with Easy4U. If the device is damaged or develops any faults, the repair or replacements is managed with Easy4U via the College's IT Services Team, and a loan device is provided in the meantime.
The Digital Device Scheme means that all pupils will have access to a personal digital device that, used with our learning platforms, will be tailored to their own needs, skills and curriculum.
Devices
The school offers both the Lenovo 500W Gen 4 (ideal for Years 7-9) and then Lenovo 13W Gen 2 (ideal for GCSE and A Level students). Extensive research was undertaken to look at suitable devices which meet our key specifications. As a school, we felt it important that the device met the following criteria: rugged, lightweight; touchscreen; active stylus; long lasting battery; Windows 11; 8GB Ram; 128GB or more SSD; good quality processor. Both Lenovo devices meet all of these criteria and they are part of Lenovo's Education range, designed for use in a busy school environment. As such, they are rugged, portable devices, which function as both a laptop and a tablet, to provide the richness of experience both in and out of the classroom that we want to offer. Both devices include a garaged stylus, so the stylus can be easility accessed but not easily lost. They work seamlessly with our online learning platforms and the full suite of Office desktop software, and provides the interactivity required for an active blended learning approach.
For BYOD Devices we advise the following as a minimum specification:
- Windows 10 or 11 device
- At least 8GB RAM
- At least a 128GB SSD hard drive
Purchasing through the Digital Device Scheme
To purchase a device for your child through the Digital Device Scheme, please go to https://www.easy4u.school/order and enter the school's code.
The current code is PRC2024
You can place your order on the website, and the device will then be delivered to the school and you will be notified when this is ready for your child to collect from IT Services.
The Impact of 1:1 and BYOD
The Bring Your Own Device model has proved extremely successful in providing a blended learning approach for our pupils. It allows teachers to make best use of the wide range of digital resources available and allows students to be organised, productive and to access their work anywhere at any time.
Research shows the positive impact of 1:1 device schemes, where the systems and teaching and learning is adapted to take advantage of this. At Princethorpe we have an excellent suite of online learning tools and have focused considerable staff CPD time into the blended learning model and effective use of digital devices both in class and for homework, as well as the benefits of our recent experiences with home learning in this area. We aim to ensure all of our pupils have excellent 21st century skills, whilst ensuring that more traditional skills and methods are still very much part of the curriculum.
FAQs
Does my child have to have a Digital Device in school?
Yes, every child at Princethorpe College must have a device in school with them every day. This must be a laptop or tablet device, not a mobile phone.
My child already has a laptop, can they use this rather than the Digital Device Scheme?
Ideally, we would prefer all pupils to use the devices provided through the Digital Device Scheme, as we are more able to ensure a consistently smooth device experience and more effectively resolve any issues. These devices also meet all of the key criteria, and so staff can be confident that all tools and learning activities will work on the scheme devices. However, if your child already has a suitable device then they can use this in school, but you should be aware that we cannot support this device in the same way.
Is there any financial support available for pupils in receipt of a bursary?
For those pupils in receipt of bursaries, there is support available to help meet the cost of the scheme. You can get more information on this by emailing feessuport@princethorpe.co.uk
Are digital devices used in all lessons?
Not necessarily. In the blended learning environment, digital devices are one of the many tools available for use in all lessons. Teachers will continue to use their professional judgement to choose when the devices can be used to enhance teaching and learning based on the topic, content and learning activities. Practically, this means that devices will be used in the majority of lessons, but not necessarily throughout the entire lesson. We continue to value the importance of handwriting, speaking and listening, and offline collaborative and practical work and in many cases the device will be used to record the outcomes of offline work, such as using photos, video or audio recordings.
How will the device impact learning activities?
The choice of Lenovo 500W and 13W devices each with inbuilt stylus means that a very wide range of learning activities can be enhanced by the device, including the use of voice recording, video, digital inking, collaborative documents, data recording and processing, immediate feedback and accessibility features.
Does this mean that there will be no more physical textbooks and paper resources?
Physical textbooks and paper resources will continue to be used, although the use of these will be gradually reduced due to the different way resources will be shared and accessed on the device. Teachers are already using more online textbooks and resources. Pupils are making notes on OneNote and are also able to store digital copies of physical work, and this means all work is organised effectively and backed up to the cloud rather than the device itself, so no learning is lost. This will also have a positive impact on our environmental footprint as a College.
How will this impact on pupil behaviour?
The College has high expectations of online and offline behaviour for all pupils, and we have systems and processes in place to support this while pupils are using devices. We have a high-quality filtering system in place on all devices and wireless connection from teacher devices to classroom screens, which allows teachers to move freely around their classrooms.
How will using a device help prepare my child for the world beyond Princethorpe?
The ability to thrive beyond their time at Princethorpe is a key component of the education we aim to provide, and technology plays an important role in terms of employability and working practices. We want the pupils to be able to safely and effectively navigate the world outside of Princethorpe and digital literacy is a key component of this. The systems and platforms used in school are used by 95% of UK Universities and businesses, and so will help prepare our pupils effectively for their next steps.
Is the 12 inch screen size suitable for use in classrooms and at home?
One of the key concerns from parents has been the size and weight of devices for children to carry around in school, and this device is both small and lightweight to make it easily portable and not take up too much space on classroom desks so pupils can also use physical resources. We have tested the devices with pupils in school who have found the size of the device to be perfectly suitable, and pupils are used to switching between apps on mobile phones, and can quickly adapt to this on laptop devices.
Can my child access inappropriate content on the device?
When devices are connected to Princethorpe Wi-Fi in school they are fully filtered and all inappropriate content is blocked, and concerns are reported on. When connected to other Wi-Fi networks, for example at home, the devices will not be filtered by the school, and so parents will need to be responsible for the controls and filtering on their home networks, as well as setting clear boundaries and expectations on device use at home. You can find more information on filtering on home and mobile networks here. The College also offers support for filtering and blocking via the SchoolsMobile Platform. More information on thiscan be found here: Princethorpe College Policies (schoolsmobile.com)
Can my child charge the device at school?
The Lenovo devices have good battery life and should last for 8-10 hours, so a fully charged device will last the full school day. Pupils should charge devices onvernight and arrive at school each day with a fully charged device. On occasions where pupils have forgotten to charge devices there will be provision for charging in some classrooms and during break and lunchtimes.
What happens if the device is lost, damaged or stolen?
Devices purchased through the Digital Device Scheme are fully covered and you will have the option to inform the insurance company themselves or to request the school manage this process.
Will the school provide support with the device?
Yes, our onsite IT Team can support the devices both physically and remotely for any problems related to the school account on the device.
How important is typing speed?
Developing accurate typing at a reasonable speed is an important skill for school and beyond, and we recommend that your child work through an online typing course to practice this if it is a concern. Curriculum time is not provided to teach typing, but the Learning Support Department offer a typing club to support those pupils that need further support with this skill.
We recommend Typing Club (https://www.typingclub.com/) as a suitable resource to practice typing.