Frequently Asked Questions
How does the scheme work? |
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Each pupil opting into the scheme will be provided with a laptop for use in school and at home. Please note that this is not a lease scheme or a purchase scheme. If they opt into our laptop scheme, parents will be asked to pay a £50 deposit for each laptop, which will be returned at the end of the scheme providing the laptop has not been lost or damaged, and that the bag and power charger are returned in good, working condition. All parents will be asked to contribute a voluntary monthly donation to our partner charity the Learning Foundation. Once costs have been deducted for administration, the charity will pass over the donations and gift aid to the school. Taking part in the Learning Foundation donation scheme will allow the pupil to take their laptop home as well as use it in school. The school will purchase the laptop and associated items and use the donations to repay the costs over time. |
How much do we need to pay? |
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We ask that you make regular donations over a period of time - between 2 to 3 years. These donations are approximately £10-15 per month, depending on the length of time you agree to contribute for. A more precise calculation can be provided on request. For those families who are in receipt of the Pupil Premium, school will use this funding to subsidise your payments. Monthly payments are approximately £2-£6 in these cases. The good news is that because we are offering this programme to all the pupils in the school, the Learning Foundation can claim Gift Aid worth 25% on all donations made by parents who are UK taxpayers and have signed the Gift Aid declaration. This means that it can be used to support the scheme. |
What happens when the scheme finishes? |
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At the end of the scheme, parents will have the opportunity to make a separate payment to buy the laptop outright. This will be based on the market value at the time and we estimate this is likely to be approximately £40. Parents who don’t wish to purchase the device, can simply return it to school, as it will remain school’s property. We anticipate a similar device will be offered to the pupils after this time period is completed and we would seek to enter into a new scheme agreement with parents at this point. |
What happens if a pupil leaves school early, during the scheme? |
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When a pupil who has been taking part in the scheme leaves the school unexpectedly, the security deposit will be returned assuming there has been no loss or damage during the loan. Parents will either terminate their agreement at this point and stop paying donations or can pay all the remaining donations and final payment and own the device. |
Can I make my contribution to the laptop upfront? |
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We would be delighted if parents were able to make a one-off donation at the start of the scheme and there will be an option to do so on the direct debit form. This would assist the school with the cash funding of the scheme. It is important to note that the laptop would belong to the school until the end of the scheme at which point we expect to offer the chance to transfer ownership outright at market value. |
Why can’t the school provide these for nothing? |
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The school receives limited funding for technology and this gets spent on maintaining our network, technical support, printers and other peripherals etc. Equipment for use at home and for personal use by your children is over and above this, which is why we have to ask you to make a contribution. Without this help, the programme would not be able to go ahead. |
What happens if I can’t make the regular donations? |
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No child will be excluded from the programme because of their financial circumstances so please come and talk to us so we can ensure your child is included. We do have limited funds to subsidise the scheme for those in very challenging circumstances. We recognise that some families with several children may not be able to donate the full suggested amount for each child. Remember that the school does have a number of laptops that are used across the school for those pupils who don’t have their own device, so they’ll always be able to share one, at least, whilst they are in school but our long-term vision is to provide a device for every pupil. |
Who owns the laptop? |
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The laptops are the property of the school until the end of the scheme and are provided to the pupils at the discretion of the school. Your contribution is a charitable donation towards the programme, not a payment towards the device. To make the scheme affordable to all, the amount we are suggesting does not cover the full cost of running the programme. Additional money will be provided from school funds and grants we may win from other sources. However, as things stand, the school has no intention of keeping the devices after the three years is up, and we will then make them available at their market value to all our families in the scheme. |
What happens if I change my mind in a few months’ time? |
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This would give the school a big problem as our decision to go ahead and buy the devices for the children will be based on the initial level of support from our parents. Changing your mind halfway through the programme would compromise the school’s finances. This is a commitment to the children that needs to be seen through. |
Why am I paying my donation to the Learning Foundation? |
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The Learning Foundation is a registered education charity that is collecting monthly parental donations on our behalf to save us administration costs. They will collect your donation every month, apply for tax relief where applicable and then grant the money back to us to pay the bills. |
Can I pay by cash or cheque? |
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Collecting cash involves a lot more work and administration costs for the school so our overwhelming preference is for you to sign a direct debit. However, if this is not possible then the school will be able to make arrangements to make sure you can contribute in a way that works for you and the school. |
Do I have to sign the Gift Aid declaration? |
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It is vital that you do this if you are a UK taxpayer; otherwise the cost of administering the collection of monthly donations has to come out of the donations themselves. |
What happens when I sign the gift Aid declaration? |
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The school sends the declaration to the Learning Foundation. We keep the form on file as proof that we are able to claim the additional 25% in Gift Aid from the Inland Revenue. Those parents receiving tax credits may deduct the annual value of grossed up laptop scheme donations when calculating their annual income which may lead to increased tax credits being received. |
Who do I tell if I change my bank account? |
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Please let the school know as soon as possible if you change your bank account by writing to us with your new bank details. |
What happens if the laptop gets stolen, damaged, lost or develops a fault? |
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Damages, Loss and Theft Please report any laptop damages to your school’s administrator and they will arrange for our technical support team to resolve the issue. Lost laptops are not covered by insurance and parents/carers will be asked to pay towards the cost of a replacement device. In all cases of loss, damage or theft a proportion - or all of - the security deposit will be retained by the school. Where a laptop has been stolen, it is the parent/carer's responsibility to report the crime to the police and obtain a crime reference number. Faults Laptops with faults will normally be repaired free of charge or replaced with a similar device. Inappropriate use and lack of care Parents/carers may be asked to pay further sums towards the cost of replacement or repair caused by inappropriate use or lack of care. Replacement Where feasible, a damaged or faulty laptop will be repaired or a replacement device of a similar age and condition will be provided. The school has a limited number of laptops to lend to pupils whilst repairs are taking place. |
What if I already own a laptop? |
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If your child already has access to a laptop device then you may come to the decision not to opt-in to this scheme. Please be aware that for network security and safeguarding reasons, only devices owned by school and managed by our network technician can be brought into school and used in classrooms. This device will still be able to be used for homework purposes and access our wide range of online learning resources, for example Microsoft Office 365, Century, Times Tables Rockstars, Purple Mash etc. |
What happens if a pupil does not have internet access at home? |
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If a pupil does not have access to the internet at home then the laptop can still be used but will lose some of its effectiveness. While the pupil will not be able to access services like Office 365, they would still be able to work on most apps that are installed on the laptop and create new files\content. However, you don’t need access to home broadband via your telephone line to access the internet at home. As long as your mobile phone has a good signal and a good data package, this can be shared with the laptop using a ‘personal hotspot’. Please don’t hesitate to contact your school’s administrator if you would like someone to explain this further. |
Can I go and buy a cheaper device on the High Street? |
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We have worked very hard to provide parents with a very competitive price for the device that we’re offering. Please be reminded that the costs of this scheme also involves software licencing, technical support and administration. Overall, we feel that this scheme constitutes a very good deal. |
What are the principles of this laptop scheme? |
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Fairness We want all pupils to benefit from the use of laptop devices, regardless of financial circumstances. We hope that parents who are able to contribute, will do so. Sustainability We want a scheme that will be sustainable for the school for many years to come. Affordability We want the monthly donation to be as low as possible. |
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