The Academy listened to the experiences of both parents and students and one thing that was made abundantly clear is that families’ digital access is widely different. For some families, every individual has a form of device, but for others, children vie for access to the one device in the household. This disparity in digital access means that students fall behind rapidly. Teachers also find supporting home learning incredibly challenging, having to identify each child’s level of digital access and tailoring to those specific circumstances.

To level the playing field, we launched our Digital Equity initiative which helps students to receive a standardised level of access to digital learning resources. Students will no longer have to compete for access in the home. Furthermore, parents have the added benefit of the Academy’s safeguarding tools on the device which maintains student safety and upholds appropriate use.

 

Cost of the device

The Academy will purchase the Chromebook on the parents’ behalf as we may be able to purchase these at a discounted price, which is likely to be significantly cheaper than the standard retail price. Furthermore, the Academy will provide a generous 15% subsidy towards the cost for each student, 30% subsidy for Pupil Premium students.
The cost of the Chromebook will be made in two instalments, the first 50% of the cost will be made upon sign up and the remaining 50% will be made upon collection of the device. At the time of publication, the total cost of the Chromebook will be £270* after subsidy (adjustments will be made if market prices change) or £223* for Pupil Premium students.

*Prices are liable to change based on current market pricing.

 

Purpose of issuing Chromebooks

These Chromebooks are to be kept at home to ensure uninterrupted access to our online learning tools:

• Satchel One (previously Show My Homework)
• SharePoint
• Microsoft Office suite

This will be invaluable for our students both in the event of any further interruptions to in-school learning because of the pandemic and to ensure they are readily able to access homework tasks under normal circumstances.

 

Online monitoring

Another significant benefit of this policy is that the Chromebooks will be linked to our network and therefore protected by our

• forensic safeguarding software; and
• Google’s management console.

This means that your child’s activities will be limited to sites that are considered safe and secure by Google’s educational platform, at the same time as being monitored by a third party on behalf of the Academy for anything inappropriate. This should give you, as parents, peace of mind that they will remain safe and on task whilst doing their school work.

We recognise that some students may already have their own laptop, tablet or Chromebook at home, but in order to ensure that their online learning activities are appropriately monitored and safeguarded, we will still issue them with a school Chromebook.

 

Responsibility and ownership

Once the Chromebook has been given to the student/parent, the responsibility for its care and insurance for damage and theft lies with the student and the parent/carer.
Chromebooks are covered by the manufacturer’s guarantee for the first three years of ownership.

Parents/Carers’ key responsibility will be to ensure that the device is maintained in working order so that the benefits of it to the student are never lost. If there is a fault, which is covered by warranty, it can be returned to the Academy to be fixed (for diagnostics), but any damage or loss will need to be rectified at parent/carers own cost. For this reason, we strongly recommend that  the Chromebook is covered by the household insurance and that the student does not take it out of the home unless absolutely necessary.

The Academy may from time to time require the Chromebook to be brought to site for checking and software updates.

 

Which students are eligible?

All new students who have joined the Academy from September 2023 will be eligible to take up the Chromebook offer.

Other students can take up this offer of a new Chromebook if they have had a previous Academy Chromebook for a minimum of three years during their time at the Academty.

 

How to sign up

To sign up to this initiative please contact either your child’s Pastoral Team or by emailing info@hammersmithacademy.org.

We will send eligible parent/carers a digital agreement to fill in and submit.