Wales Street Primary school introduced BYOD iPads about 8 years ago. The school and parents have invested heavily in the program and there are mixed perceptions of its success. However the growing body of evidence suggests that the use of student- owned devices in schools may not improve educational outcomes and is likely to be detrimental to students’ wellbeing. Many parents tell stories of over use of screens, teachers struggling to monitor student activity on iPads, deterioration in handwriting, dangerous behaviour online and harm to student through bullying or accessing inappropriate content, both at home and at school. We ask the Wales Street School Council and Principal to:
1. Conduct a thorough, evidence-based review of the BYOD iPad program, considering:
A)Its success and the ways in which it has failed to meet educational expectations.
B) Input from parents and teachers on instances of harm to students as a direct or indirect result of the BYOD program.
C) The risks of the program and the effectiveness of existing controls.
D) Ways to improve awareness of parents to the general and specific risks of unsupervised device use and how to monitor and control students’ devices.
E) Alternative models to the current program that provide students with the opportunity to learn IT skills while reducing the risk of harm to their wellbeing.
2. Create a register of risk incidents involving BYOD iPads, to be monitored as part of the schools overall risk and governance. Anecdotally, there are many serious incidents however there is no clear tracking or monitoring of these to improve controls and reduce the risk of harm to students.
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
September 17, 2025
25 Comments
As a paediatric neuropsych I believe the evidence for safe and effective learning for this model is sincerely lacking. In contrast the evidence for risks of increased screen time is well established
I’m very concerned about the over use of iPads in primary learning, I would rather them learn the basics of reading, writing, maths, art and critical thinking without a screen to then apply to tech when they have the maturity and development. It is too addictive and hard to monitor
I think the later children spend time on iPads the better - especially from my personal experience of one of my older children being traumatised by severe bullying online. On top of that I’m very concerned about their eye and neck health.
Wsps needs to explain how they manage the risk of students bringing inappropriate content (for example explicit movies, music videos, songs or photos in their camera roll) on their personal iPads and showing it to other children at school?
As a family much of the conflict comes from iPAD use. Yes, we try to set boundaries, but it’s hard when the school is effectively encouraging their use. Effectively they are just big iPhones, filled with temptation and designed to encourage addictive behaviour. Laptops make more sense. Less app driven and a built in keyboard for touch typing. iPads were probably seen as ‘innovative’ 10 years ago. Now we know better and the dangers the present. Let’s act quickly to prevent further harm to our children.
I do look forward to hearing if a review would be possible. The evidence on this is becoming clearer than it was 8 years ago.
Evidence based decision making is critical in education and planning
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Wales Street Primary school introduced BYOD iPads about 8 years ago. The school and parents have invested heavily in the program and there are mixed perceptions of its success. However the growing body of evidence suggests that the use of student- owned devices in schools may not improve educational outcomes and is likely to be detrimental to students’ wellbeing. Many parents tell stories of over use of screens, teachers struggling to monitor student activity on iPads, deterioration in handwriting, dangerous behaviour online and harm to student through bullying or accessing inappropriate content, both at home and at school. We ask the Wales Street School Council and Principal to:
1. Conduct a thorough, evidence-based review of the BYOD iPad program, considering:
A)Its success and the ways in which it has failed to meet educational expectations.
B) Input from parents and teachers on instances of harm to students as a direct or indirect result of the BYOD program.
C) The risks of the program and the effectiveness of existing controls.
D) Ways to improve awareness of parents to the general and specific risks of unsupervised device use and how to monitor and control students’ devices.
E) Alternative models to the current program that provide students with the opportunity to learn IT skills while reducing the risk of harm to their wellbeing.
2. Create a register of risk incidents involving BYOD iPads, to be monitored as part of the schools overall risk and governance. Anecdotally, there are many serious incidents however there is no clear tracking or monitoring of these to improve controls and reduce the risk of harm to students.
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
September 17, 2025
25 Comments
I am an ex parent- our children were at the beginning of the program. What a nightmare- Children were playing fornite / seeing pornography whilst learning. I work in addictions and devices are damaging their brains. No devices / school controlled is the best way moving forward
As a paediatric neuropsych I believe the evidence for safe and effective learning for this model is sincerely lacking. In contrast the evidence for risks of increased screen time is well established
I’m very concerned about the over use of iPads in primary learning, I would rather them learn the basics of reading, writing, maths, art and critical thinking without a screen to then apply to tech when they have the maturity and development. It is too addictive and hard to monitor
I think the later children spend time on iPads the better - especially from my personal experience of one of my older children being traumatised by severe bullying online. On top of that I’m very concerned about their eye and neck health.
Wsps needs to explain how they manage the risk of students bringing inappropriate content (for example explicit movies, music videos, songs or photos in their camera roll) on their personal iPads and showing it to other children at school?
As a family much of the conflict comes from iPAD use. Yes, we try to set boundaries, but it’s hard when the school is effectively encouraging their use. Effectively they are just big iPhones, filled with temptation and designed to encourage addictive behaviour. Laptops make more sense. Less app driven and a built in keyboard for touch typing. iPads were probably seen as ‘innovative’ 10 years ago. Now we know better and the dangers the present. Let’s act quickly to prevent further harm to our children.
I do look forward to hearing if a review would be possible. The evidence on this is becoming clearer than it was 8 years ago.
Evidence based decision making is critical in education and planning
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I am an ex parent- our children were at the beginning of the program. What a nightmare- Children were playing fornite / seeing pornography whilst learning. I work in addictions and devices are damaging their brains. No devices / school controlled is the best way moving forward