From September 2014 Abbey Grange will be following the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) with their new year 7 intake. The IMYC is a creative curriculum that looks to link learning across the different subject area whilst retaining the integrity of subject specific learning. The IMYC is designed to engage the specific developmental needs of students to work towards understanding through a personal and global perspective. Students will make connections by linking all subjects together through a BIG IDEA. To enhance the impact of this exciting new curriculum we have worked hard to ensure that every Year 7 student will have access to their own Academy iPad to support their learning. The iPads are leased directly from Apple on a two year lease, at the end which they will be upgraded to the latest model. We are keen for this provision to expand and hope to reach full coverage across all year groups within the next four years. Students in year 7 will use their iPad in lessons and we will monitor the effectiveness and the impact on learning regularly throughout the year. Students, staff and parents will be invited to drop in sessions with to discuss the impact of the iPads on learning and get any support they might need. During Year 7 induction week parents will be able to attend one of a series of information meetings, during which we will handout the allocated iPads and parents/guardians and students will need to sign the Acceptable Use Policy before taking the device home. The iPad will stay with the student for the duration of the lease which is currently two years after which we hope to renew and the student will provided with a replacement iPad. Once students leave at the end of Year 11 they must return the iPad in near perfect condition to avoid being charged. Any student leaving Abbey Grange before this must also ensure the device is returned in line with the conditions set out in the policy. All iPads remain the property of Abbey Grange and are lent to students for the time they are here. The iPads are theirs to use within the terms of the policy, but the Academy will have management of all iPads and will be pushing out settings, restrictions, apps, books etc through a Mobile Device Management solution. Research and studies into the effectiveness of the iPad on learning have been a vital part of our preparation to our own introduction of iPads, and we have carried out numerous school visits and pilot schemes to assess how to best go about introducing the iPads in the most effective and well prepared way. These are exciting times at Abbey Grange with our most recent set of exam results being the best we have ever achieved, and we believe that the combination of this exciting new curriculum with cutting edge technology will continue provide our students with the world class contemporary education they deserve to become successful twenty first century global citizens.
Important Contacts: This scheme is run entirely by Abbey Grange Academy. If you need technical assistance, please look over that provided on this site before contacting the school. Support will also be available to students at the Digital Abbey Bar, provided by our ICT Team, and our new Star Techs. If your device develops a fault or suffers accidental damage you must report it immediately. Your child can do this by going to Digital Abbey or you can email: ipad.support@abbeygrangeacademy.co.uk If your device is stolen you must first contact the police and then you must inform the Academy as above. Main Scheme Contacts: Mr D. Whieldon, Director of Academy Effectiveness Mr A. Marshall, Head of Digital Services