My daughter is in year 4 at a Church school and I attended a school meeting regarding the introduction of tablets which were given to pupils at the beginning of the term.

In the initial phase of the meeting we were told that a switch is taking place from paper to digital.  However, we were also told that the children will still have books and papers “so if anyone of you has a stationery, you will still make your profits”.

A mother asked whether children could start having ebooks instead of printed ones to ease their satchel load, however she was told because of rights issues this would be difficult.

Then a father asked whether, in view of the switch to digital, exams will be done in a different way. He was told by a school official that this was not yet known and that it was up to the individual teacher to decide to what extent the tablet will be used. However, the official also said she will be having a meeting soon with the school teachers to discuss this issue.

When asked what was hoped to be achieved by the switch to digital we were told “this is still a learning curve”. The school official also said: “They [pupils] will be digital citizens, they will learn what photos should and should not be uploaded on Facebook, how to write creatively using pictures in text and how to think critically.”

I asked myself what the real benefits were as Facebook behaviour is something children learn during personal, social and career development (PSCD) lessons, while the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) and computer lessons also expose them to inserting pictures in texts. When I finally asked whether research exists confirming that the use of tablets is beneficial to schoolchildren I was bluntly told: “It was an electoral promise.”

While I am grateful that tablets were given to our children for free to keep until year 6, I can’t help feeling that no one really knows how they will really benefit from them, what the educational advantages are and whether there are health hazards associated with their prolonged use.

I feel we are still at the trial stage and teachers need more support and time before they start using tablets in class.

I also hope that those families who find it hard to pay their electricity bills will get some support to possibly be allowed to charge their tablet at school.