Overview

What is happening?

South Bank Primary's Digital Strategy involves the continual development of technology used to support our teaching and learning, as well as the hardware/physical digital devices.  From September 2020 we began the roll out of the use of standardised digital devices for all students, to enhance their existing teaching and learning in the classroom and at home.  When the pupils leave in Y6 they take their Apple iPads with them.

Which device has been chosen and why?

We have chosen Apple iPads for all of our pupils.  After much research and the experience of using the Apple iPads with our teaching staff, it was considered to be the best device that would provide the flexibility and quality of performance for our pupils.  

How and when are the new devices being rolled out?

During 2020/2021 our KS2 pupils each received their own Apple iPad.  

During 2021/2022 our Y2 pupils each received their own iPad and our Reception and Y1 year groups all had access to a class set of Apple iPads.

Teaching & Learning

How will the devices be used in lessons?

There are a wide range of activities that our pupils and teachers will use the device for including audio and video recordings by staff and pupils providing richer content, demonstrations and feedback to work.  Traditional learning activities can be made more engaging and immersive, providing many more opportunities for peer collaboration and allowing pupils to organise and adapt lesson s for their own individual needs.  Digital inking will provide many opportunities for annotating digital resources.

Will the device be used in every lesson?

Our teachers currently use a wide variety of tools to give the best possible learning experience to our pupils.  They will continue to use their professional judgement and will utilise technology to support pupils in a blended learning environment.  The ability to be fully numerate and to read and write fluently is still vitally important and our vision is that the device will help create learning experiences that are engaging, and in some cases truly transformative, whilst giving our pupils the chance to enhance their digital skills.

How will handwriting be impacted?

Currently, most assessments and tests (SATS) are still paper based.  Therefore, handwriting and working on paper will be important and pupils will need to maintain their handwriting.  The amount and frequency will vary from subject to subject but handwriting will continue to be incorporated into all areas of the curriculum.  The device your child will receive has digital inking capability in applications such as OneNote will still encourage handwriting skills.

How important is typing speed?

More recently typing has become an important life skill as typing proficiently frees up time in lessons and at home.  As your child moves through school they will continue to practise typing as slow keyboard skills may be a barrier to progress.

What does the use of devices mean for the use of textbooks and paper resources in school?

Our teaching staff are already making use of many online textbooks, digital resources and Apps.  These provide far more flexibility as these resources can be combined with ease and are more accessible to all.  By utilising the Office 365 applications, all work and resources are synced and backed up to the cloud, providing significant benefits for pupil organisation as work completed on paper can be captured digitally and stored electronically.  By reducing our use of paper we will also lower our environmental impact.  This is one of the targets set by our Rights Respecting pupil group.

How will this development prepare our pupils for their future as global citizens?

82% of UK job roles require digital skills and over 95% of universities and businesses are using Microsoft 365 with an expectation that all pupils/workers will be digitally literate.  Digital tools can support creativity and innovation, self-directed learning, collaboration and hybrid working.  Increasing the use of technology in and out of the classroom will give our pupils a competitive advantage when thy move on to the next stage of their education and beyond.

What 

South Bank Primary Digital Strategy

Digital Strategy is the term we are using to describe our increasing use of technology to deliver and reinforce teaching and learning and the necessary standardised digital devices needed to facilitate this in and out of school.

Covid-19 and the associated restrictions provided us with many challenges, the necessity to develop remote teaching highlighted the benefits that technology can bring to how our pupils engage in learning and achieve better outcomes.  Pre-pandemic we had a clear pathway and aspirations around progressing our Digital Strategy, we are now better informed to know what we want to achieve, how and by when.

In 2020/2021 we completed a significant investment in the provision of Apple iPads and Dell digital devices to all classroom based staff, this investment has been key to our ability to continue teaching through lockdowns and student isolations.  During this period we also provided all KS2 pupils with their own Apple iPad for use at school and home.

During 2021/2022 we completed a further investment in the provision of Apple iPad digital devices issued to each of our Y2 pupils and class sets of Apple iPads for our Reception and Year One classes.  For the 2022/2023 period we will be investing in upgrading our classroom interactive screens and upgrading to a cloud based server.

We are very excited about this innovation and the opportunities and benefits we are confident this will deliver.  I want to emphasise that our Digital Strategy is about so much more than the physical hardware; it is about the continuing evolution of our teaching and learning, making sure that we retain the best of traditional teaching, while accessing the growing technological advancements that will support our pupils to become active global citizens for the 21st Century.

Tammy Cooper

Head Teacher