There are a wide range of tablet and laptop-style devices available on the market and Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy have tested a number of devices available on the market; taking into consideration cost, reliability and cost when considering the type of device which would be best suited to students in our academy.
A Chromebook looks like a laptop in appearance but operates in a very different way with students accessing services and apps online. The Chromebook operating system is produced by Google who provide a wealth of apps and services which are specifically designed to support students in education.
Chromebook devices boot-up in a matter of seconds and have a battery life that lasts up to 8 hours, dependant on use. Chromebook devices are managed centrally by our IT Support Team to ensure that access is safe and secure. Internet content is filtered, via Smoothwall, to ensure students can access everything they need for their studies.
Students need to be prepared for an increasingly digital world. Research has confirmed that good home access to technology has a positive impact on a child’s educational achievements; it often motivates them to do schoolwork by providing more interesting and engaging ways to learn.
Student work is often better presented so their self-esteem grows and they can explore subjects that interest them in their own time.
Chromebook Features
Less than 8 seconds to boot up Long battery life
Simple technology
Easy student-teacher workflow
Large numbers of computers can be managed centrally
Excellent collaboration tools
Works seamlessly with Google Apps for Education and other cloud based applications which all of our students and teachers already use extensively.
The following are just a few examples of what students will do at Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy:
Create and share using Google Docs
Use subject related apps in the classroom and at home
Collaborative learning
Submitting work via Google Classroom
September 2025. To receive a Chromebook by then, you must place an order by 10th September 2025. After the first payment has been collected on the 25th September 2025, the Chromebooks will be sent to school and allocated to students.
Chromebooks use wireless to connect to a network so you will need WiFi at home to use the Chromebook on the Internet. If you have WiFi, your network security key can be added to the Chromebook before log-on. If you don’t have WiFi at home, the Chromebook will still work for many things (most apps, reading eBooks, etc) but, for example, email and web browsing won’t be accessible until the Chromebook is back within the School network.
No, as they may not be compatible with the add-ons that we will be using for teaching and learning. The battery may not last the full day on a single charge and the computer may not boot up within 10 seconds from a closed lid. The device will also not be managed by the academy and therefore will not be manageable as a class learning tool.
Yes. We believe that iPads are great tools for consuming media but they are not as good for creating content and allowing our students to work collaboratively. Whilst the range of applications available on iPads and Android is vast, many of the resources that teachers currently use in IT Suites would not be available. We also looked at traditional Windows, Mac and Linux laptops. Although these devices are indeed more powerful, they are also more complex, more expensive and have poorer battery lifetimes. The simplicity of the Chromebook overcomes these barriers so that the focus will be on learning.
There would be difficulties with bringing your own Chromebook into school, as it would not be managed by the academy.
The Asus C204MA Chromebook has upto 14 hours battery Life*. This varies depending on what the Chromebook is being used for. As long as students charge the Chromebook overnight, it will last all day. An energy research body has calculated the cost of charging a Chromebook for a year to be 87p if charged every other night. Students are responsible for bringing their charged Chromebook to school. Please note that there will be no charging facilities available in school.
*Battery life test configuration: Intel® N4000, 4GB RAM, HD non-touch display, 32GB eMMC. Battery tests conducted by ASUS in March 2019 using the Chromium OS power Load Test. Actual battery life may vary depending on product configuration, usage, operational conditions and power management settings. Battery life will decrease over the lifetime of the battery.
In order to achieve the economies of scale with a manufacturer which make this scheme most affordable, we cannot offer a diverse choice of devices, as the numbers taking up each option would be too low.
Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy IT Support team will be able to help resolve many technical issues.
Your child has an existing Google Account provided by the academy, this account will be used to sign in to the Chromebook. Chromebooks are limited to only allow sign in with an Our Lady and St Chad’s account.
We will be maintaining our investment in the IT suites which run specialist software including our suites for Computer Science and Music. Our Lady and St Chad recognises the importance of IT facilities and continues to invest significantly in this area to maintain an infrastructure that allows students to access high quality resources to support their learning. Our Chromebook scheme will allow students to access online services in every lesson across their timetable.
Legally Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy owns the Chromebook until full payment has been made.
With ever tightening budgets the school has a limited amount of funding for ICT in school and this primarily pays for the maintenance of our school network. As we are asking families to pay for the device it will belong to the student and therefore can be used outside of the school day.
The Chromebooks come with a 3 Year Advanced Repair Service included, covering accidental damage and theft. This advanced repair service has no excess costs and comes with an unlimited number of repairs. In the event of a fault or damage to the device your child must bring it to the IT Team at School. They will then provide a spare device to your child and the faulty/damaged device will then be collected and repaired/replaced for free. More information about this service can be found in the documentation provided with your order confirmation.
Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy has a very effective web filtering system, Smoothwall, and all devices attached to our network go through this web filter. Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy will be actively monitoring students’ Chromebooks whilst used in school. We will be able to look at web filter logs should an issue become apparent. Students are already taught the importance of e-Safety through PSHE, IT lessons and assemblies. This will be continually reinforced.
Chromebooks will also be subject to the same internet filtering policies at home, as they are in school.
The Chromebook is always backed up and our students have sufficient storage space in their Google Workspace for Education account.
There are other Chromebooks on the retail market, but we will be bulk purchasing a model that we believe can offer good value for money, is robust and designed for education.
Yes, the below support article from Google provides great information on getting started with using a Chromebook:
https://support.google.com/chromebook/?hl=en-GB#topic=3399709
We will make sure all of our students receive the teaching input to get them up and running with their new Chromebooks when they are issued.