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IT PROVISION GUIDE 26/27

(published April 26)

LEARNING TECHNOLOGY AT CLAREMONT (APRIL 2026)

Over the past few years, the role and use of technology in learning have evolved rapidly and we are now comfortable that well specified and well used technology offers major benefits for pupils throughout their school life Our aim is to ensure that pupils learn about IT to suit their level of interest and career choice, that they learn to be competent users of IT in preparation for live after school, and that they have the skills to continue to learn as technology evolves through their lives.

The school has recently approved a whole school digital development plan for teaching and learning which sets out the following key objectives:

To implement the full and effective use of Microsoft Teams and applications, including OneNote, as primary learning platform

To integrate digital learning platforms with the use of stylus enabled hardware and classrooms equipped with interactive screens

To ensure the educational power of AI is understood and is used to enhance the learning journey

To ensure a cogent whole school digital journey for each pupil

To provide training that supports teacher expertise and facilitates grassroots initiatives for digital teaching and learning

To provide an effective computer science curriculum that successfully embeds the skills required for outstanding digital literacy.

Within the Junior school there is additional emphasis on introducing data tools, robotics, early years coding, educating pupils about safety and digital literacy, and engaging pupils within digital ambassador programmes

All of this is underpinned by our continual investment in our infrastructure, service, cyber security, and in skills and training

MICROSOFT TEAMS AND ONENOTE

At the heart of pupils’ learning is the Microsoft Teams environment Pupils and their teachers are connected by the Teams and through this work is set, shared, discussed, reviewed and assessed. Teachers will set exercises and assignments and pupils will respond with handwritten or typed responses, sketches or comments which are visible immediately to the teacher who can guide, coach and comment in real time but leaving a permanent record for reflection and revision. OneNote provides the structure and tools for this, and the pupils' laptop and stylus enable them to engage easily and in a way which suits them As the year progresses this OneNote builds up into a combined, comprehensive electronic record which brings together the "exercise book", the teacher's materials, the workings and the assignments - together with all of the pupil's reflections and teacher's comment and review

When all of this is combined with increasing use of on-line resources and on-line texts, we expect to see those cumbersome and heavy rucksacks full of books much reduced!

INTERACTIVE CLASSROOMS

Traditional projectors and screens in classrooms have been 'one way' - they transmit from teacher to pupil The interactive screens we've installed provide two major advances over this traditional technology Firstly, teachers and pupils can write, sketch or draw on the screen directly for the whole class But more importantly our wireless connections allow any of the pupils to connect to the screen This enables small groups to work together around a screen, allows individual pupils to showcase their work and allows a teacher or pupil to project from anywhere in the room All of this supports a far more collaborative and reflective approach to learning which is so important in preparing pupils for the world of work

TOOLS, CONTENT AND PERIPHERALS

We believe that the acquisition of digital understanding can and should be interesting, engaging and exciting To this end we make no apologies for our investment (in many cases with invaluable support from the Friends of Claremont) in peripherals such as programmable robots, 3D printers, game-based learning tools, and an increasing set of on-line learning resources from innovative companies such as UpLearn and Seneca, and in online textbooks from Classoos All of these are carefully selected to ensure they provide real age-appropriate learning

PUPIL DEVICES AT CLAREMONT

At Claremont we require all pupils to purchase (or rent) a laptop device for their time at School. The use of devices is carefully embedded across the curriculum with all subjects making use of devices and online resources. Pupils will have 24/7 access to their device for use at home and at school It is important to note that devices are not used in every lesson, or for every piece of homework as we believe that verbal and writing skills continue to be critical to all learners We make extensive use of the market leading ‘Smoothwall’ suit to ensure that pupil access to the internet is both controlled and monitored both at school and off-site

Claremont has determined over many years that the type of devices needs to be age appropriate as pupils progress Additionally, our experience of the past few years both at Claremont and elsewhere has demonstrated that the demands on pupil devices continue to increase – and looking to the emerging world of AI it is clear that this will continue. We have determined that a three-year lifetime is realistic – longer than that and devices struggle, and warranty becomes expensive, less than that and value for money diminishes. This isn’t mandatory – just our best advice for all parents We also recognise that this will take a while to ‘flow through’ to all year groups

For 2026 we are introducing a alternative device at senior school in addition to the Microsoft Surface This is the Lenovo L13 ThinkPad 2in1 convertible This device has a stylus and writable screen but is ‘convertible’ – the screen folds around to provide tablet mode, unlike the detachable keyboard of the Surface The Lenovo is around £500 cheaper and we believe provides an excellent alternate choice for pupils

Broadly, for Claremont pupils through the school their device ‘profile’ will be:

Reception – Year 2 Apple iPads and laptops

Year 3

Year 6

Year 9

Year 12 (sixth form)

Entry-level Lenovo convertible with tablet and stylus mode supported

MS Surface Pro convertible with tablet and stylus, or high-end Lenovo convertible with tablet mode and stylus

Bring your own device (BYOD)

Advice and recommendations from school, some subject specific.

Provided in class sets by the school

Purchase or rent over 3 years from school scheme with Easy4U

Pupil / parent choice Can use the Easy4U scheme if wish.

See section “What does this mean for me?” for each year group for September 2026)

CLAREMONT PUPIL DEVICE SCHEME

Early years tools for coding and presentation

Building up IT skills, Increasing use across all subjects

Familiarise with advanced use

Use across all subjects, OneNote use

Start GCSE with new device. Use across all subjects, OneNote use

Intense use across all subjects

Will increasingly see use in exams over next few years

Claremont provides a Pupil Device Scheme in partnership with Easy4U All devices (except sixth form) must be rented or bought through this scheme which provides support, warranty, insurance and ensures that devices arrive configured with all of the software required and set-up for the school network. They are also manageable by the school remotely which enables us to ensure that safeguarding software and security software are working and up to date at all times, and to quickly deploy software to devices for specific subjects.

YEARS 3-5

In 2023, following extensive work with pupils, teachers and informed by visits to other schools, we took the decision to standardise on the 'convertible' style laptop as the preferred device for all pupils in years 3-5 These devices are cost effective, of manageable size and weight, reliable and have excellent writing and drawing support This supports our objectives to continually transform and improve teaching and learning through considered use of the Microsoft Teams environment and in the OneNote 'digital exercise book' approach

Pupils will need their laptop from the start of Year 3. This will give the children access to an up-to-date device at home and at school from the start of preparatory school years We should point out that these young children will not switch to learning in a totally digital environment We will continue to utilise a range of teaching and learning methods, of which the digital environment will be one, to ensure the children's broad and balanced educational experience

The convertible laptop which operates either as a conventional laptop with keyboard or as a tablet is important to support both formal use (writing, researching topics) but also interactive use where materials are annotated, modified, shared and projected in a dynamic and flexible classroom or learning space. We know that many pupils entering Year 3 may be considered 'digital natives' but still have very limited exposure to keyboards and in particular to the MS Office suite. During Year 3 pupils will be steadily introduced to their devices, its power and functions - not only doing 'real work' during Year 3 but also preparing them for later years in school.

YEARS 6-11

Similarly, following extensive work with pupils, teachers and informed by visits to other schools, we took the decision to standardise on the Microsoft Surface Pro as the preferred the device for all pupils in Senior School (Years 7-11) The device is high performance, reliable and has excellent writing and drawing support This supports our objectives to continually transform and improve teaching and learning through considered use of the Microsoft Teams environment and in particular the OneNote ‘digital exercise book’ approach From 2026 we are also offering the Lenovo L13 ThinkPad 2 in 1 convertible as a more cost-effective option.

Year 6 pupils will transition from the Lenovo to the senior school device as part of their preparation for Senior School. At the start of Year 9 we recommend pupils to start with a fresh device as they start their three-year GCSE programmes These break points ensure that pupils devices are used for a full three years, but that their life is not extended too far beyond We’ll keep this under review as technology and learning tools evolve

THE EASY4U PURCHASE SCHEME

Following a rigorous tender process we have renewed our partnership with Easy4U for the scheme for the third year running We expect them to provide you, the pupils and the school with excellent support throughout the purchase, delivery and subsequent support of the device. We have been made aware of some challenging support periods and are working with Easy4U and their new management team to ensure that they provide the service which we would expect

We consider it essential for effective classroom learning that pupils have consistent devices at this age and that those devices are of sufficient quality It is also essential that they are configured with the correct software, that they operate seamlessly with the school network, and that they carry the right tools for maintaining security and controlling access to internet resources in line with our safeguarding processes

The scheme operated by Easy4U enables you to rent or purchase a device for your child which will:

Meet the specification agreed as appropriate for our classroom use and for use at home and away – including a tablet format to enable easy writing and sketching

Be configured to connect to the school’s network and our safety and security systems

Have all of the software required for learning pre-installed and ready to go

Be configured with management software which allow us to easily deploy new software as requirements change over time

Be covered by full warranty for repair for the duration of the rental period

Be covered by an appropriate level of insurance for damage, loss and theft

Be issued to your child in their class groups and with appropriate introduction and guidance.

All devices will come as a complete package to include stylus, keyboard, full case, configuration, insurance, warranty, and support Devices must be ordered before 1 June 2026 and will be delivered to school for final testing during August and issued to all pupils during the first few days of term At this point we’ll make sure they connect to our systems, that they have login and passwords, provide some initial coaching for pupils, some advice on staying safe on-line and advice on connecting to home wi-fi

Purchase and rental options have been developed and tailored to suit our families’ differing circumstances such as the number of years remaining before a child leaves the school. Parents may opt to purchase the device outright or select a rental scheme with different payment plans over 2, 3, or 4 years. Both purchase and rental options include a full support plan with a choice of contract lengths. We recognise that these are significant investments for parents and that your future plans are not always clear, and generally we recommend that you consider carefully the rental option as this enables you to return a device early if circumstances change

At the end of this document, you will find explicit guidance for each year, whether you child is joining Claremont from outside or progressing through the school

INTRODUCTION TO DEVICES FOR SIXTH FORM STUDENTS

Students in the sixth form will continue to need a device both in school and away. However, we believe that students at this stage in their education should be encouraged to take ownership of the choice of technology which suits them and their learning – and aspirations for life after school

To this end we operate a full ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) scheme Students should choose their own device and bring that into school The choice of device might be guided by the subject they study – many students studying art, media or similar subjects might choose Apple products, those studying computing or DT might choose very high-end devices, those studying humanities might choose lightweight but simple laptops We do not recommend tablet devices as a pupils sole device – even high end iPads will not support some of the software used in art, media and photography, and we are unable to support Google Chrome devices.

We do consider it essential, however, that the device chosen includes a tablet and pen mode – our styles of teaching will continue to require students to annotate and write on documents on screens and maintain their handwriting as well as keyboard skills

All pupil use of IT, including these devices, is subject to the school's acceptable use policy, which forms part of the contract between school and parent

The safeguarding of our pupils is critically important To this end we make no apologies that the school, under our IT acceptable use policies, provides filtered and monitored internet access on site and is able to monitor internet uses from school devices wherever they are connected to the internet. We also insist on and provide appropriate anti-virus and anti-malware systems to protect both the pupils and us.

As part of the Microsoft Teams environment all pupils have access to substantial OneDrive cloud storage and should use this to store all of their work to ensure that it is accessible from anywhere and that it is securely backed up

Pupils will receive appropriate training in the use of their devices and will also get guidance on safe use of technology, staying safe online, and encouragement to look after their devices as an essential tool for their learning

Pupils will receive training and guidance throughout their time at Claremont in the safe and appropriate use of technology including the rapidly emerging AI tools Pupils who breach the school’s acceptable use policy or otherwise abuse our systems will be subject to the school’s normal behaviour and sanctions policy Parents support in this is always appreciated