Westminster Laptop Program

Our student laptop program plays a critical role in ensuring that our students have the right access to technology to meet their learning needs. Our laptop program is reviewed annually. The information below is for the information of all parents, but particularly those who are joining the school, have students entering Years 6, 7 or 8, or have a need to upgrade or replace an existing device.

The arrangements for student devices are as follows:

• Early Learning Centre will continue to offer access to iPads and desktops as per their existing program.
• Reception to Year 4 students will have access to devices in the classroom and specialist computer suites at no additional charge.
• Year 5 students will have one-to-one access to classroom sets of devices for use at School only, which will incur a minimal annual charge of $125, to be included in the core costs of the School Fees schedule.
• Years 6 to 12 students require their own laptop. The options for this laptop are listed below under the headings School Managed Device and Bring Your Own Device

Core costs and consumables related to IT for all year levels will continue to be covered as part of the annual core costs component of the School Fees schedule.

The Laptop Program

If your child requires a new laptop, the following outlines the options available to meet the School’s Laptop Device specifications:

School Managed Device

Westminster School regularly reviews what is available in the technology marketplace to ensure the recommended laptops meet the requirements of today’s learning environment. Due to the fast pace of technology releases, we are constantly reviewing and updating our models.

This laptop will be delivered with a Westminster image, pre-loaded with school-supplied software, and be ready to connect to the school network. Recommended devices will receive full support from our ICT Services Department, including software updates and anti-virus.

Experience from previous years has shown that the School recommended device has allowed ease of access for the students and swift resolution of issues via ICT Services. Maintenance, repairs and software updates on those devices are the responsibility of the student or parents/caregiver.

The portal is available at http://westminster.technologyportal.com.au

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

We recommend the use of a School Managed Device for ease of repairs and the school's ability to provide a more complete ICT support solution. However; we do support the use of a laptop (including Apple) as long as it meets the minimum specifications of:

• Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 CPU
• 11" Display
• 8GB Memory
• 250GB Solid-State Drive
• WiFi 11ac recommended)
• Minimum advertised battery life of 7 hours
• Microsft Windows 10 or Apple MacOS 10.8

BYOD devices will receive limited support from our ICT Services team beyond assistance to connect to the network. Maintenance and software updates will be the student or parent/caregiver’s responsibility for those devices.

If you wish to Bring Your Own Device and you are unsure if the device is suitable, or if you have any technical questions in relation to the laptop program, then please contact ICT Services.

Policies

Use of ICT and devices by students at Westminster School is subject to the following policies: