Information Technology
At ICHK, we are committed to harnessing the positive aspects of digital technology, whilst also striking a balance in its use.
Our aim is to develop learners who are confident and effective users of ICT, who can evaluate its benefits and its impact on society, and who can make sensible decisions about when and where it serves them to good advantage.
Whilst we recognise that the ability to use ICT effectively is a vital life skill, we have become increasingly aware of its disruptive power and the difficult battle that young people face in their capacity to use devices wisely.
Our IT Policy
Having witnessed the extraordinary developments in digital technology in recent years, we have radically revised our IT policy. Our IT policy consists of the following documents, which are intended to work together to serve all audiences and contexts within the Secondary school community.
Full Text (PDF) – this document gives the full story behind the policy, and is intended for staff, students and parents who wish to understand our rules and guidelines more deeply.
IT Agreement (PDF) – this agreement is to be read and signed by students and parents: it summarises the full policy, and provides space for signatures to show acceptance of the terms and conditions of the policy.
IT Policy Poster (PNG) – this document covers the main points of the policy, and is intended for quick reference and classroom display. It is shown in the image below.
Phone Locker Protocol (PDF) – this document describes how the mobile phone lockers, detailed in the full policy are to be used.
Guides for Parents
ICHK Secondary is wholly committed to using IT to further school-centred learning, but, as with a growing number of schools, we do have concerns about the pace at which digital technology is evolving. Witnessing these extraordinary developments in recent years, and becoming increasingly aware of the difficult battle that young people face in their capacity to use devices wisely, has led us to a radical revision of our IT policies. Our campus is designed as a space where digital technology is less prevalent, less intense, less pervasive, and more explicitly the subject of critical analysis and sustainable practice.
The aim of these guides is to aid you in thinking about your child’s relationship with digital technology, and how this may evolve as they start their secondary education. To this end, we are pleased to offer you the following series of information sheets, which address these topics:
Information Technology and Free Learning
We deliver an exciting and relevant ICT curriculum, whilst also giving students plenty of opportunities to explore both real world interactions and experiences.
The school laptop is the primary device for learning. The emphasis is on its positive use, balanced with other expressive technologies, including hand crafted notes, diagrams, simulations and prompts to thinking.
Mobile phone use in school is strongly discouraged, with Year 7-11 students being encouraged to dock their phones in designated lockers each morning. Those students who find this problematic receive guidance and support in order to establish more healthy habits. Break times are protected as non-ICT time.
Students are given many new opportunities to develop their learning. Under our pioneering Free Learning project, they are given the choice of a huge variety of different ICT study options, starting in Year 7. Topics include information literacy, web design, game development, and electronics teardown and rebuild.
And our unique Human Technologies curriculum supports our students in becoming intelligent, confident, critical users of all technologies, whether digital or otherwise.
As part of our commitment to community learning, we offer Parent ICT courses and Maker Nights where families can learn together in a fun way.
We suggest that the use of digital technology is progressing too far, too fast, and without proper reflection in the wider world. At ICHK we are wholly committed to using ICT to further school centred learning. But we are also striving to provide a space where it is less prevalent, less intense, less pervasive, and more explicitly the subject of critical analysis and sustainable practice.