Family FAQs

Midlothian Council provide a mixture of iPad and Chromebook devices.  Your child's school will be able to advise on which device will be provided.  iPads are supplied in a protective case and Chromebooks are supplied with a protective sleeve.

Midlothian Council's commitment is that every young person will have access to a device for learning until they leave formal education.  We may swap your child's device to provide a more up-to-date model.

Yes, the devices being provided aim to support young people with learning both in school and at home.  However, this is at the sole discretion of your child's Headteacher.  Additionally, schools may initially request that devices stay in school for a period of time to allow young people to be taught how to use the devices and look after them responsibly.

Devices should be charged only with the charging cables provided with the device. Devices should come to school every day fully charged and ready for use in their protective case or sleeve. Building this positive habit at home will be beneficial to your child’s learning in the longer term. Devices kept in school will be charged in school. 

While it is expected that young people will take appropriate measures to ensure that the device avoids damage, sometimes accidents happen. Midlothian Council’s Digital Inclusion & Learning Team support schools with the maintenance and effective use of devices. Young people should not attempt to fix the device if it is not working and under no circumstances should you or your child remove screws or attempt to take the device apart. Instead, you should report the problem directly to your child’s school so the appropriate support can be sought. Where a device has been damaged, lost or stolen, Midlothian Council is not obliged to provide a replacement device. Where there is evidence of willful damage to the device or negligence in caring for the device, the school will work with the young person and parent/carers in line with the schools’ approach to promoting positive behaviour and inclusion. 

Devices are being provided to support your child’s learning. Teachers will use digital resources to deliver the curriculum and make learning accessible using a range of platforms. Additionally, your child may be required to access the internet to research information or use an application to showcase their knowledge in a creative way. Midlothian Council also provide a range of additional learning tools which require parent/carer consent. A list of these tools is included in the Education Service’s Privacy Notice, available on Midlothian Council’s website. 

Young people will be given the necessary support required during school to learn the digital skills they need to make best use of their device. This forms part of Midlothian Council’s Digital Literacy curriculum.   You can find more information on how to support your child with their device in the Support for Families section of this website.

The use of digital devices in school is at the discretion of school staff. All young people must use their devices as directed by their teacher. The use of digital devices at home should be primarily for educational purposes. Digital devices are only enabled for use within the United Kingdom, unless permission is sought to support learning in specific circumstances. A device management system tracks devices, identifies date and time of use, provides software updates and can be used to disable the device if it is lost or stolen. 

All activity on the device, both in school and from any other location, is logged and catalogued by education-specific safeguarding tools. This system is monitored by Midlothian Council and by senior school staff with responsibility for child protection. This data is treated as confidential and is managed by Midlothian Council in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) and in line with Midlothian Council’s Privacy Policy, available on the council website. Midlothian Council does not use the device camera to capture images of your child. Safeguarding reports (accessible only to trained staff) may include an image of the windows visible on the device screen. Any child protection concerns identified by Midlothian staff will immediately trigger a school’s Child Protection and Safeguarding policy, in the same way as any other safeguarding concern. Young people are advised of the existence of this monitoring system through our Pupil Support Guides and Pupil Pledges. 

In the majority of cases, this content will be blocked and recorded by internet filtering and safeguarding tools.  However, no guarantee can be given that this system will block all inappropriate content on the internet.   Where a young person comes across inappropriate online content that is distressing or illegal this should be immediately reported to the child’s school. Where there is a concern that viewed content is illegal, this should be reported to the police through CEOP. 

Where a young person is in persistent or serious breach of the appropriate use of the device, it will be recalled by the school. Examples of what constitutes misuse of the device are provided in the parent/carer consent form (secondary pupils). If any activity is unlawful, this will be reported to the Police. Learners should be respectful and considerate in all forms of communication when using a school device and account. All children and young people are encouraged to follow the pupil pledges, produced in consultation with pupils.

It is a requirement for the Midlothian Council-issued device to be used in school, rather than a personal device.  This ensures an equitable experience for all young people and allows our staff to best support your child.