Heronsgate Primary School teaches children in one of the top 20% most deprived areas in the United Kingdom, at two campuses in South East London, Thamesmead Campus and Royal Arsenal Campus. As a one-to-one iPad school, Heronsgate introduces technology to students in the earliest years of education, ages 3-11 years old.
Prepare every student for the future with Apple and Jamf
Heronsgate Primary School
London, UK
Heronsgate Primary School also hosts the Greenwich Apple Regional Training Centre, offering educators in the local area the opportunity to learn how Apple technology can make a difference to teaching and learning in the classroom.
Apple Distinguished Educator Tim Lings serves as Heronsgate’s Director of Digital Learning and Professional Learning Specialist. Tim shows how to use technology to both teach and learn, serving the school’s mission – “to discover and realize the genius in everyone.” By embracing the best of Apple technology, managed with Jamf, Tim helps teachers provide a rich educational experience for students of all backgrounds.
Pioneering technology where it’s needed most
Not many state schools in the UK have 1:1 iPad programs, especially at the primary school level. In fact, when the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED) graded Heronsgate “outstanding”, meaning they provide the highest quality education and care for their children, the OFSTED report noted: “Your leadership team are cohesive, consistent and, together with you, they are supporting teachers to help transform pupils’ lives for the better. You truly enable pupils to ‘discover and realise their genius’ and achieve highly. Heronsgate is an outstanding school with an exceptionally innovative, unique and personalised curriculum.”
Every student in the four Heronsgate primary schools has an Apple device – 800 and counting – thanks to the efforts of Tim and his leadership team.
Tim says Heronsgate Primary School’s aim is to give children the best possible education they can have. “We believe everyone has potential. We want to help all children really succeed and do their best.”
Introducing iPads offered new tools for education. “We’ve found over time using Macs and iPads at primary school, that they open up all kinds of interesting ways to do learning,” says Tim.
“It broadens what is possible for students and what they learn, particularly for students coming from deprived backgrounds, and gives them a richer educational experience.”
For example, a student may not be able to go on trips abroad, but they can open maps on iPad, and go on a 3D tour of France. Tech brings the world to their fingertips, and can make learning more engaging, because you can do more interesting things.
The school has three big ideas for the use of technology: good learning is collaborative, experiential, and reflective.
An iPad is a resource to not just look at things, but also engage in the creative process. For example, students can use “Explain Everything” to record a video to explain how to do math problems. Teachers can use “Showbie” as their learning platform to run the lesson and distribute resources to students, and their iPad as an interactive surface in lieu of an interactive whiteboard.
Making learning experiential, hands-on and practical can help students remember and understand what is going on, while getting them more engaged.
From introduction to embrace and oversight of technology
Tim's role as Director of Digital Learning has developed over time, from helping pioneer the 1:1 iPad program, to overseeing how it’s working, and making sure teachers are both confident in and using technology effectively.
When looking for the best way to oversee and control the school’s Apple devices, Tim realized he needed a program that would help manage both Macs and iPads. He found the best fit with Jamf Pro, as a web-based mobile device management system that is designed to support all of the features Apple offers.
“It’s great for setting up Apple classroom,” says Tim, “so when a teacher opens Apple classroom on an iPad they can start teaching.” Because it’s all set up in Jamf Pro, it makes it easy for teachers to use. “We do a bit of work behind the scenes, using your great tools, and it means the teacher doesn’t have to think about it.”
The school has built a culture of embracing technology and expectations for staff use, with ongoing trainings and coaching sessions when needed. As an Apple regional training center, they are also able to host on-site trainings after school.
On the student end, “Something I’m very grateful for is automated device enrollment, with the pre-stages. We have a list of all the devices the school owns and when they’re set up, so we feel comfortable that when a student has a device, they cannot hack their way out or wipe it and set it up differently.”
Jamf Pro also simplifies everyday tasks such as resetting passcodes, installing apps and checking which devices need updating. “Day-to-day, it allows us to know where devices are at all times, and gives you a handle on how to manage them.”
Looking to the future
While he has happily used Jamf Pro for many years, Tim’s team is exploring migrating to Jamf School in the future in order to use unique educational features such as Jamf Teacher and the Jamf Parent app.
As Apple technology continues to expand the horizons of what’s possible for educating students, Tim is confident Jamf will continue to enable them to succeed with Apple. “When Apple gives new features, we know that Jamf will support it,” says Tim. “Day zero support actually makes a big difference, so we don’t have to hold everyone back. We can keep up with it and be on top and ahead of the game so we can keep up with whatever Apple throws at us.”
When Apple gives new features, we know that Jamf will support it.