Device Provision

Scottish Government has committed to the provision of an appropriate digital device, and where necessary an internet connection, to all 700,000 school-aged learners.

Prior to this announcement, across Scotland a number of authorities had developed their own strategic approaches.

Highland Council Chromebook Project

• The Highland Council Chromebook Project was informed by pilot projects that took place in Kingussie High School and Primary School from 2015
• It was launched in November 2017 (and is an ongoing project subject to development and change)
• Every learner from P6-S6 was allocated a Chromebook for use in school and at home
• Learners from P1-P5 had access to a Chromebook in school initially on a 1:5 basis (by 2020 this had achieved 1:1 status)
• Over 20 000 Chromebooks have been distributed
• Digi Learn Highland was created to provide a one-stop-shop for advice and information in relation to the Chromebook project

Stirling Council Chromebook Project

• The project to roll out Chromebooks and laptops to learners and teachers in Stirling has been in place since 2018/19
• Pilot projects at Stirling High School helped to inform the roll out, the support that would be required and the potential impacts of such provision
• By April 2021 all children and young people in P5-S6 (7,233) had taken delivery of a Chromebook, while all Primary school and Secondary school teachers and ELC settings (1,350) had been provided with a laptop
• In the next period of expansion orders had been placed (April 2021) to supply all P4s with the technology
• The Council has provided specialised support for each sector and launched a new learning platform (SPEC) that can be accessed by young people, teachers, parents and carers

Connected Falkirk

• March 2020 / iPads were rolled out to teachers and those learners (1000 in total) who required access to devices to support remote teaching and learning from home
• November 2021 / Falkirk has completed the roll out of devices to all teachers and learners from P6 to S6
• A team of 4 seconded teachers was established to support this work, including training in schools
• 3 days training per school in the authority was provided by XMA
• All practitioners took part in an introductory online training session
• Some ‘more involved’ sessions were also promoted
• A Glow blog was established
• Bespoke videos were created for the project Youtube channel
• Twitter was used extensively to provide ‘just in time’ answers to common questions and tips on device use
• Practitioners were encouraged to gain Apple Accreditation
• The Digital Schools Award was promoted

Glasgow City iPad Programme

• August 2019 roll out of iPads begun
• By January 2021 a full complement of 50 000 devices had been provided to learners from P7 to S6 (roll out completed one year ahead of schedule)
• An annual Digital Leaders of Learning conference has been established to share best practice
• Apple has established a Regional Training Centre within Glasgow and 50 trainers have been trained
• Digital Learning and Teaching has been a focus for Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
• Online support has been provided through authority and school websites

Scottish Borders Inspire Learning Programme

• The Inspire Learning project was launched in Sept 2019 and is a 10 year programme
• A decision was made to provide iPads (13,000 plus) across the school estate (working with CGI, XMA and Apple to deliver)
• All P6 to S6 learners and education staff including ELC have been provided with an iPad
• The P6/7 primary school roll-out began in June 2020, with devices delivered to pupils' homes due to the COVID-19 restrictions
• As a result of the pandemic iPad provision was extended to include P4/5
• Shared class sets of iPads for P1-3 were rolled out Oct 2021; this will happen on an annual basis
• All P6-S6 classrooms have had upgraded AV equipment including Apple TV’s, screens, projectors
• A four year refresh cycle is built into the programme

Impacts on learning and teaching

Based on initial observations in these authorities, 1-2-1 device provision aims to:

• Increase staff confidence in planning for digital literacy
• Support the application of digital skills in a wider range of contexts
• Heighten awareness of the risks associated with being online
• Increase practitioner access to and use of digital resources
• Improve collaboration and communication between practitioners and learners
• Provide wider ASN support
• Reduce the administrative burden on staff
• Support flexible approaches to assessment
• Enhance curriculum access within and between schools
• Enable targeted and personalised support for learners

Inspire Learning - Scottish Borders - Teacher's views

Connected Falkirk: Our vision

An insight into the use of iPads in Holyrood Secondary School