Using sixth form bursary to provide laptops for students

[The_IT_Guy]

Hi

 

Does anyone's school provide laptops for students to keep?

 

My school is looking into using the sixth form bursary to part fund laptops for sixth form where the parents will put £100 towards it if they want one.

 

It's not a 1:1 scheme as the parents will own the laptop and it is not asking everyone, just if they want to.

 

If you do how do you run it? What is the process?

 

The idea is the parents sign up, pay their part to the school then we make a purchase and basically just pass it on to them.

 

Thanks

[Steve21]

Are you even allowed to do that? As you're giving them free money effectively (not to mention exVAT issues etc). - Think of it at selling at a loss on purpose.

 

Not really sure the justification for giving away public money to pupils as it's not like its a pupil premium to help them learn at home etc :s

 

Steve

Edited February 23, 2016 by Steve21

[The_IT_Guy]

The laptops would be purchased at the full price with VAT included.

 

To be honest it is one of those things that has been arranged and i'm being asked how it can be delivered. The bursary money is to be spent specifically on learning resources for that student.

[Steve21]

The bursary money is to be spent specifically on learning resources for that student.

 

If it's to be spent on their learning though that should be a school device that's purchased for them and owned by the school. Then the student can have home usage or whatever but it's returned once they leave etc. That's what we do as it all needs to be justified within Pupil Premium spending etc (PP in our case)

 

Shouldn't be given to their parents as their own device as you'd get yourself into issues with that I'd have said. What's the difference with doing what you said, or buying a £1000 macbook and selling it to yourself at £1?

 

Personally I wouldn't advise you to suggest anything that involved the parent/student owning the device, keep it within the school but as an allocated device etc. If anyone "could" authorise that it'd be higher up chain anyway.

 

Steve

[LincolnE]

Depends, really. The idea behind some of these schemes is to cut down on other costs. It'll cost as much to provide each student with Chromebooks as it would to provide new computers or laptops for classroom use. If you factor in that a 1:1 scheme means that every student can use the resource in every class, it becomes almost like their textbooks/exercise books.

[The_IT_Guy]

Just a thought but when you see universities offering a free iPad if you join them. How do they run them?

[Steve21]

Just a thought but when you see universities offering a free iPad if you join them. How do they run them?

 

I would guess it's linked into the private tuition fee you're paying to join them. So really you're paying £9500 and buying ipad, rather than £10000 and free ipad

 

Might be wrong and it's fine, but I wouldn't want to be the one to decide that. Quick check with the bursar or what not should clear it up

 

Steve