Apple Distinguished School
We are proud and delighted to have been designated an Apple Distinguished School once again for the period 2024-2027.
Recognised for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence using technology in September 2024 — Western is pleased to announce we have been recognised as an Apple Distinguished School for the 2024–2027 program term. Schools apply and are selected for this distinction based on their commitment to continuous innovation in education and using Apple products to inspire, imagine, and impact teaching and learning.
Apple Distinguished Schools are centres of leadership and educational excellence, with a clear vision for how technology-rich environments support learning goals. In Apple Distinguished Schools, forward-thinking leaders and their communities work to inspire, imagine, and impact teaching and learning, and they have documented results of academic accomplishments. Schools all over the world are using iPad and Mac to transform learning. As teachers incorporate technology into their lessons, they empower students to lead, learn, and thrive, to discover new opportunities, and to make their world a better place.
We use Apple technology to connect our pupils to the world, fuel creativity, deepen collaboration, and make learning personal. The innovative use of this technology at Wester has enabled us to:
- Increase motivation and engagement in learning
- Inspire curiosity and creativity throughout the curriculum
- Significantly reduce teacher workload
- Significantly reduce our use of paper
- Further engage parents and carers in the children’s learning
- Explore innovative ways of approaching learning
- Enhance collaboration
- Deliver a first-class home learning experience
- Improve engagement in writing, particularly for boys
- Provide equity of access to the digital world for all pupils
Our journey, however, has only just begun and we intend to continue to explore the potential of teaching with iPads to provide the best possible educational experience for our pupils and to prepare them for life in the 21st century. We also look forward to collaborating with other schools within our trust and through our role as a Regional Training Centre for Apple to help and support them to develop their own use of this technology.
Our use of 1-2-1 iPads as the mainstay of our teaching and learning offer goes from strength to strength.
Since September 2020, all pupils from Year 1 – Year 6 have been provided with an iPad, designed to inspire their curiosity, promote ambition and drive creativity. Pupils and staff now use these devices seamlessly to enhance learning experiences, and it is hard to imagine school without them. Our creative and effective use of iPads to engage pupils with the best possible learning experiences and help prepare them for employment in the 21st century has been recognised by Apple who granted us Apple Distinguished School status, and by Ofsted (March 2024) who said that ‘the school’s use of technology in lessons is highly effective’. We are collaborating with other Apple Distinguished Schools to ensure we continue to explore and innovate, whilst also succesfully becoming a Regional Training Centre to support the many other schools who are adopting 1-2-1 iPads.
