Laptop Policy

Laptop Policy

Laptop Program - Overview

Since 2013, we have had a mandatory laptop program for students at AISHK. The laptop program runs from Year 4 upwards.
The laptop program can be broken down into the following sections:
• Years 4 to 9
• Years 10 to 12

Years 4 to 9

In Years 4 to 9, all students purchase the same model of laptop from the school, which is configured with all necessary safeguarding and network settings for our campus. These laptops are used exclusively in the classroom during Years 4 and 5. In Year 6, students begin taking their laptops home regularly in line with their curriculum. From Year 7 onwards, students keep their laptops and use them daily both at school and at home.

As the laptop is an essential part of the learning curriculum, it is mandatory for students to purchase the school-appointed laptop package. It comes with a 4-year warranty and accidental damage protection, as well as comprehensive school IT support services. Please note that the 4-year warranty and accidental damage protection is an agreement between you, the parent, and Dell. The school helps support and administer this but is not responsible for decisions made by Dell regarding the enforcement of their rules.

If students encounter any problems with their laptop, they can bring it to our Laptop Service Centre on the 5th floor . If the laptop needs to be repaired, we will issue a spare laptop (subject to availability) while their laptop is being repaired.

For a laptop to adhere to the Year 4 to 9 program it must:

  1. Be a AISHK managed device purchased through the school.
  2. Have an active warranty.        
  3. Be in good working order and able to fulfil the learning requirements.

This means that providing the laptop is respected and maintained by the student no family will need to purchase more than two laptops during their child’s education at AISHK from Year 4 to 9.

Years 10 to 12


Students in Years 10 to 12 have a few options available to them. These options are:

             
  1. Purchase a laptop through the school laptop program (Recommended)

If a laptop is purchased through the school laptop program, the student will continue to get the same level of service and support for their device as in previous years, including loan laptop when the laptop is being repaired. When entering Year 10 we remove some of the laptop administration restrictions in line with the greater responsibility that students have in their senior years.

            
  1. Bring their own device (BYOD)

Students may bring their own device or continue to use their existing school laptop after the warranty has expired subject to the laptop being in good condition. (In this case we would deregister the laptop from our domain as it would no longer be managed by us - the deregistration process removes our restrictions from the device and allows the student to manage all updates.)

Please note that repairs to laptops outside of warranty can be very expensive.

The BYOD option is allowed subject to the laptop meeting our minimum specifications, having the required software installed, and will need to be scheduled for a device check prior to connecting to our school Wi- Fi and printers. (See ‘BYOD Device Specifications’ for more information).

If the device experiences a hardware failure, students would be responsible for repairs and we would issue a loan device until the end of the day. They would need to arrange laptop repair or replacement as appropriate.

Please note that the technical support for BOYD devices we could offer would be limited (See ‘Technical Support for Devices’ for more information).

BYOD Device Specifications

All laptops brought to school will be checked to ensure they meet our minimum requirements before they are permitted on the school network.
Machine Type

Laptop - please note that iPads and other tablets are not permitted as the sole device.

Platform
PC or Mac (Please note that if you choose the new MacBook with ARM processor, you may experience a few software incompatibility issues and will need to install Rosetta on your laptop)
Processor

A recent generation of processor

Battery Life
Minimum 5 hours. The device should be fully charged each night and should work for most of the day without the need to plug in. The charger should be brought to school.
Hardware Features
Webcam and Microphone
Screen Size
11" inches or more
Accessories
Not all laptops have HDMI sockets. If your laptop does not have a HDMI socket, you will be required to bring your own cable or adaptor.
Software
Current Englisn version of Windows or OS

Additional Considerations

Durability
Please remember that the laptop will be carried to/from school each day and also around school - a durable protective bag/case for the laptop is required.

Warranty / Insurance
Please remember that out of warranty repairs are very expensive for modern laptops - check your warranty coverage carefully. You may also explore the possibility of adding it to your household insurance policy. Please be sure that you can get repairs in a timely manner.

Technical Support for Devices
On the 5th floor we have a dedicated IT Service Centre and IT Helpdesk.

For laptops purchased through the school that are still under warranty

We will be able to fully support these laptops, including getting the laptop repaired if necessary, and reinstalling the operating system and application software. Additionally, we will manage the Windows updates for the machine. If your laptop needs to be repaired, we will be able to support you with a loan laptop whilst your laptop is being repaired. We have agreements with the manufacturers on service times so we know that typically the laptop will be repaired in a timely manner. School purchased laptops are supplied with a 4 year warranty and 4 year Accidental Damage Protection (ADP - 1 claim per year).

For BYOD laptop (regardless of brand or model) - Students in Years 10 to 12

We will be able to offer limited support for these laptops, as they are not school managed devices. When you first bring the laptop to school, we will help you to set up Wi-Fi access and printing, once we have inspected your device to ensure it meets our minimum requirements.

The IT Service Centre staff will not be able to install or reinstall operating system or application software on the laptops. However, where the software is provided by the school, we will make the installation file available to the student and offer advice on the installation process where required. Where a student has a problem with accessing any of the school services, such as Wi-Fi or printing, we will try to troubleshoot the problem with the student, and offer advice where we believe it is related to hardware drivers, operating system issues or hardware failure, but we will not be able to reinstall the drivers or operating system, or repair the laptop. If the laptop has a technical failure during the school day, we will issue a loan device until the end of the day. The student would need to arrange laptop repair or replacement as appropriate. We will not have chargers or cables / connectors for different types of laptop, so it is essential that students bring any chargers / connectors that they might need to school with them.



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