School pioneers homework 'tablet'

Teacher Sarah Freestone and a pupil with the interactive whiteboard

A primary school in East Sussex is pioneering the use of technology which helps parents keep in touch with what their children are learning.

Pupils at Little Horsted Primary in Uckfield are being taught maths using an interactive whiteboard controlled by a teacher using a laptop-like "tablet".

Each child also works on tablet of his or her own, monitored by the teacher - and taken home at the end of the day.

The system has been developed at the University of Sussex in Brighton.

Little Horsted teacher Sarah Freestone said: "What they are working on during the lesson can be fed back to my teacher tablet so I am aware of what level they are at.

There is nothing wrong with pen and paper - this is about blending in technology Professor Rose Luckin

"I know whether I need to put in support or whether they need to move on to a more challenging task.

"And the beauty of it is they can take them home at the end of the day."

The project, funded by government grants, allows parents to see what their children are doing at school.

Parent Sarah Wenban, whose twin girls use the tablets, said: "It has been interesting because we have been involved in their homework maybe more than we would have been before.

"And it has been a good challenge for them getting used to them."

Professor Rose Luckin, from the university, said the system was not intended to replace old-fashioned pens and paper.

"There is nothing wrong with a pen and paper - this is about blending in technology," she said.