Parents have a very different perspective. Whilst educators wax lyrical about the potential of the iPad for learning, there are concerns from parents about its impact on their child. Or so we thought.

All parents of iPad trial students were asked to complete a questionnaire, attend a focus group meeting and email any further thoughts to inform the decision making progress for future iPad use. A great deal of time was taken by these parents as they were keen to convey their thoughts to inform the research process and we are very grateful for all their efforts.

Below are direct responses to questions from the focus group where parents were encouraged to discuss with each other the various advantages and disadvantages of the iPad for learning.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmckelvey

It is a natural sentiment for parents to want the best for their children and many who have entered the teaching profession have done so because of their love of children.

One of our greatest challenges today is to reap the massive rewards that are there for the taking if we build on and integrate appropriately the range of strategies now being developed and implemented with the aim of all children experiencing successes in every area of their lives, during their highly critical formative years, their school careers and beyond.

In the latest of a series of short films that look at the many ways in which U-Explore can be used to support both staff and students in establishments around the country, we vis- ited a pro-active academy in the North East of England to investigate how parents are be- ing involved in their child's careers exploration.

Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy in Gateshead is passionate about involving parents in their child's careers exploration and in addition to using U-Explore in lesson time, students are being encouraged to log on to the interactive platform at home with their parents to explore their future options further.

Is your school considering online payments for parents?

With a steady decline in the use of cheques, schools are becoming increasingly concerned with the growing amounts of cash being handled on school premises. Not only is this an obvious burden for school administrative staff, it also represents a substantial risk to a school’s security, which results in an increase in insurance coverage. There is not a better time to consider an alternative cashless payment mechanism that parents can use to settle costs for school trips, uniforms or other school related items.

Regardless of the number of transactions your school makes, you can benefit from becoming a cashless school. The benefits of an online payment portal direct to schools include: the reduction of administrative burden, no duplicate entries, fully auditable payments, and a reduction in the costs of security associated with handling cash and cheques on school premises. Hours can be saved by not having to count, report and bank cash or cheques received from pupils and parents. In addition, payments can be easily reconciled to give an up-to-date picture of who has paid for items and those with amounts outstanding.