Yes. We are introducing the new Digital Device Scheme over two years. During academic year 2025/26, Years 7 and 8 will still have School iPads. In Years 9, 10 and Lower Sixth, participation in the new device scheme is required. In Years 11 and Upper Sixth participation in the new device scheme is optional for 2025/26 only; pupils in these year groups may continue to use a School iPad if they have one, or a BYOD device in Upper Sixth. 

We permit pupils to use personal devices in their boarding house using a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) network. The School has never generally allowed BYOD devices in the classroom. Until now, there have been two exceptions: BYOD devices have been permitted as optional in the Sixth Form, and optional for pupils in the lower school with dispensation to use laptops in exams. We will remove these exceptions for Year Groups 9, 10 and Lower Sixth from the start of academic year 2025/26, and for all year groups from the start of academic year 2026/27.

Not necessarily. In the blended learning environment digital devices are one of the many tools available for use in all lessons. Teachers will continue to use their professional judgement to choose when the devices can be used to enhance teaching and learning based on the topic, content and learning activities. This means that devices will be used in most lessons, but not necessarily throughout the entire lesson. We continue to value the importance of handwriting, speaking, listening, and offline collaborative and practical work. In many cases the device will be used to record the outcomes of offline work, such as using photos, video, or audio recordings. 

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 with Classroom Pen 2 offers a wide range of learning activity enhancements, including the use of voice recording, photos, videos, digital inking, document collaboration, data capture and processing, generative AI, immediate feedback, and accessibility features. The devices are also designed to maximise the value of the applications in the School’s digital learning environment, e.g. OneNote, Teams and the 365 suite apps. 

We will continue to use physical textbooks and paper resources where appropriate, but we expect this will be gradually reduced due to the diverse ways resources can be shared and accessed digitally. Teachers are already using more online textbooks and disseminating resources using OneNote. Pupils are making notes in OneNote and are also able to store digital copies of physical work, so their work is organised effectively and backed up to the cloud rather than the device itself. We expect a positive impact on our environmental footprint. 

The School has high expectations of online and offline behaviour for all pupils, and we have systems and processes in place to support this while pupils are using devices. Our behaviour expectations are laid out clearly in our Pupil Acceptable Use Policy. We have a high-quality filtering system in place and our wireless network allows teachers to move freely around their classrooms whilst teaching. The standardisation of devices in this scheme will also allow us to introduce systems to permit teachers to ensure that pupils in their class are on-topic. 

The ability to thrive beyond their time at The Leys is a key component of the education we aim to provide. Technology plays an important role in employability and working practices. We want the pupils to be able to navigate the wider world safely and effectively and digital literacy is a key component of this. These systems and platforms are used by 95% of UK Universities and businesses, so will help prepare our pupils effectively for their next steps. 

Costs vary depending on the type of device and the length of the contract, which can be one, two, three or four years. This is because the warranty, insurance and loan–device elements of the scheme are integral to the overall cost. Costs will be made clear on the Easy4U portal which all parents will be invited to access during the launch of the scheme. The School has analysed all the costs and we are confident that the scheme represents excellent value for money. 

One of our key concerns has been the size and weight of devices for children to carry. The Surface Pro 11 is small and light enough to be easily portable and to fit on classroom desks so pupils can also use physical resources. We have tested the devices with pupils in school who have found the size of the device to be perfectly suitable. Here is a link to a report on the usability of the Surface Pro 11 (Snapdragon X-Plus) written by Monty H (Upper Sixth). 

We have however reserved judgment around devices for our youngest pupils in Years 7 and 8. We think that the 10” screen size form factor is best for these pupils, and no models are yet available in this size, with chipsets providing all-day battery life. We expect these to arrive within the next year and will introduce them to the scheme as soon as possible. 

When devices are connected to The Leys Wi-Fi in school their web use is filtered, inappropriate content is blocked, and concerns are reported on. On other Wi-Fi networks, for example at home, web use is not filtered by the School. Parents are responsible for the controls and filtering on their home networks, as well as setting clear boundaries and expectations on device use at home. The School is evaluating software to do device-level filtering and will be investing in this as an additional safeguarding layer when a suitable product is identified. 

The Surface Pro 11 (Snapdragon X-Plus) has an excellent battery life. Based on our real-life tests with pupils, we expect a fully charged device will last a full school day with about 30% charge to spare. In case pupils forget to charge devices there will be provision for charging in some classrooms and Houses during break and lunchtimes. Charging facilities are already in place in each Boarding House for overnight use. 

Devices leased through the Digital Device Scheme are covered by the scheme warranty and insurance policies. The hardware warranty is comprehensive and allows for unlimited claims during the contract term. IT staff can help pupils initiate a claim and the scheme permits us to provide pupils with a temporary loan device while the claim is processed, to ensure continuity of learning. Parents have responsibility for communications about claims with the scheme provider.  

Devices are covered with no additional cost for any hardware or component failure with a £50 excess on any accidental damage of theft claim. Crime reference numbers are required in the event of a claim for theft. 

Yes, our onsite IT Team can support the devices during core school hours for any problems related to the school accounts and applications on the device. The School IT Team will also help with diagnostics around device malfunction and network connection. 

The School works with the scheme provider to enrol all the devices in a common Mobile Device Management environment. This allows the School to publish a catalogue of pre-approved educational apps for pupils to choose from at will. We will continually respond to requests to add apps to this catalogue. If there is a major software fault on the device, then School IT staff will be able to reset the device promptly. 

The scheme providers, at the School’s request, add asset tags to the devices, pens and chargers. These show the pupil’s school code which is well known to them and to staff as it is the prefix of their email address. 

Accessories such as digital pens, chargers and cables are not covered by the insurance. But the policy does cover the Type Cover keyboard as an insured item.

We spent a whole academic year (2022/23) considering the options. We tested about 10 different devices, including Chromebooks, laptops, 2-in1 (flip), 2-in-1 (detachable), and tablets. We reached out to many other schools to compare learning platforms, and device policies. Our conclusions were that we needed a 2-in-1 detachable device running Windows (to operate the Microsoft learning platform natively), with digital pen support, and most importantly, all-day battery life. None of the devices we tested matched this profile, and most of the feedback we had from other schools mentioned that battery life was a problem. We concluded that we would not change until the devices matched our performance requirements.

A new chipset is now available for such devices – the Qualcomm Snapdragon series. These chips share an architecture with those widely used in mobile phones, which is optimised for energy efficiency. We bought some Dell laptops with this chipset in 2024, and found the performance excellent – even under quite heavy load, one can get a full day of battery life from them. This chipset is now available in Microsoft Surface Pro 11, but not yet in any other similar products. We took an evaluation unit of the Surface Pro 11, and got positive feedback from a teacher, and from a pupil who used it for a week and wrote this report for us.

One more factor in our decision-making was that Easy4U have a mature business model, excellent references, and a high-level partnership with Microsoft (including being a registered repair centre). We had also concluded that we needed the offering to our parent community to be a high-quality Device-As-A-Service scheme.

With our transition to the Microsoft learning platform nearly complete, and suitable devices available, we decided that 2025 was the best time to launch the scheme. The reality, with this timing, is that the Snapdragon/Surface is the only device on the market which we are confident addresses all our requirements. As time goes by, other devices will come to market, and we will re-evaluate our offering each year. If competition drives the costs down, then you can be sure that we will take advantage of this and offer the best value devices in future.

There are some elements of the service provided by the device scheme which can’t be satisfied by a retail offering.

The scheme is of a type broadly referred to as Device-As-A-Service. This means that there are multiple components to the service, designed to ensure that unexpected events do not interrupt the learning journey of the pupils. Many of these components require close collaboration between the school and the scheme supplier. The supplier handles:

• Preparation of the devices prior to delivery to the school, including:
  • Installing screen protectors
  • Registering the devices in the School’s Mobile Device Management system (required for delivery of all the software on the device)
  • Labelling of the devices and accessories to ensure that they can be readily identified
• Delivery to the school and assistance with the deployment of the devices to pupils at the start of the academic year
• Maintenance of a pool of spare devices, kept in the School, so that a spare can be provided immediately to a pupil whose device is broken or lost. This includes an arrangement with the School to handle the transport of devices under warranty or insurance claims between the School and the supplier. This is probably the most important hidden ingredient in the scheme, and the one which is almost impossible to deliver unless the scheme is centralised and school-wide. The logistics operation behind the scenes includes a dedicated delivery driver.

The educational premise for building-in this level of support is that we want same-day replacement of broken devices. This avoids problems arising for both staff and pupils from pupils being unable to participate in classwork or prep.

There is a provision in the contract allowing the parent to back out with full refund before the start of the academic year.