Tech savvy pupils haul £270 worth of gadgets into the classroom
The average school pupil now carries £270 worth of gadgetry with them to classes including mobile phones, laptops and tablets; according to a new study of technology adoption amongst the young conducted by uSwitch.
Cumulatively this accounts for £3.2bn worth of technology fuelling fears that a mini playground crime wave could worsen from the days when the highest value item in a school rucksack was a packed lunch.
Quizzed as to why they were splashing out on gadgets 50 per cent of parents said that in doing so they believed they were handing their children an advantage by having easier access to educational resources.
A dark side to this trend also emerged however with a similar number of parents fretting that digital tools were detrimental to children’s social skills, attention spans, handwriting and spelling. A tenth of respondents also stated that their children had been bullied over the technology with 13 percent having suffered the theft or loss of a device.
Peter Bradley, director of services at children’s charity Kidscape, said: “With the start of the new academic year just around the corner, parents should carefully consider what gadgets their child is taking to school. Some children maybe bullied because of the gadgets they either carry or do not even possess.
There is a need for schools to raise more awareness around the issue of bullying when expanding IT devices to increase learning - anti-bullying procedures are often forgotten about.”