Laptops for teachers

Who is eligible for a lease laptop?

You can apply for a laptop under the TELA scheme if you are:

• a permanent full-time or part-time (at least 50% FTE) teacher, and
• in a state or state-integrated school, and
• working with year 1 to 13 classes, and
• relieving for a permanent position (long-term relievers are only eligible if they are relieving for a permanent position that doesn't already have a TELA laptop).

Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour (RTLB), literacy, Māori and itinerant music teachers are eligible if they meet the above criteria.

About the lease

These are the conditions for leasing laptops:

• The laptops provided under the TELA scheme are on a three year 'lease to use'. Schools and teachers have no laptop ownership rights at the end of this period.
• Unfortunately laptops cannot be exchanged for newer models during the lease. However you may be able to add extra features to your laptop at a cost to your school. Contact your relevant supplier for more information.
• Laptops are allocated to positions, not individuals, so if a teacher is on leave the laptop must be available for the relieving teacher. This includes teachers on maternity leave or leave without pay.
• Laptops must stay with the original school and be reallocated to the replacement teacher if a teacher transfers to another school. Teachers cannot take the laptop with them.
• Schools are ultimately responsible for lease payments and fulfilling end-of-lease requirements.
• The TELA scheme is ongoing. At the end of the three year lease, schools are encouraged to take out a new lease for new laptops for their teachers.
• We recommend schools have a signed agreement with teachers to cover the use of the laptop and adopt a cybersafety policy. You can download a sample teacher agreement at the bottom of the page. Netsafe has cybersafety policies.

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Models and prices

• For all model and pricing details, please refer to the ordering website www.order.tela.co.nz
• Prices are subject to change without notice.
• Models are subject to availability and may change without notice.

How to apply

To order TELA laptops for your school, please visit www.tela.co.nz.

Payments

The leasing company (Equico Limited) will direct debit your school quarterly in arrears, from the lease start date, for the school’s portion of the lease.

The Ministry pays their portion of the lease directly to Equico. This will automatically start from when the order is processed. Schools don't need to complete any additional paperwork.

The Ministry subsidy is calculated on 2/3rds of the lowest cost base model at the time of ordering.

Accounting for lease payments

Laptops for teachers' leases are deemed to be operating leases rather than finance leases.

The annual lease cost of laptops supplied through TELA becomes part of the operational expense costs for the school and will be included in the school’s annual accounts as an expense item.

Likewise the reimbursements from teachers will be shown as operational income.

Please see the Annual Reporting Circular 2010/15.

Laptop indemnity

The teacher's laptop is automatically indemnified against accidental damage or loss for the duration of the lease. Laptops are not covered under the school's own insurance policy.

Please do not order a replacement laptop, the Indemnity Scheme will arrange a replacement. Please refer to the TELA Indemnity policy download at the bottom of the page.

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Repairs

To log a fault with your laptop please submit an incident in the portal by logging into the TELA website at www.tela.co.nz. You can also contact the TELA helpdesk on 0800 438 468 or email support@tela.co.nz  if you have any queries.

Things to note

• TELA laptops must be serviced by the TELA approved service centres.
• It is important laptops are repaired as soon as they develop a fault rather than at the end of the lease period. Once a laptop is out of the lease period your school may be charged for repairs.
• Laptop batteries are considered a ‘consumable’ and in most cases are covered by a one-year warranty. They are expected to last longer than a year but if they fail your school may need to pay for a replacement.
• Data recovery is not covered under the TELA scheme. Schools must ensure they have their data backed up to DVD, flash drive or a server.

At the end of the lease

NOTE: For schools affected by the ordering and shipping delays, lease extensions will be arranged. Please contact Equico at return@equico.co.nz  and please retain your current laptops until you have received replacements.

When your laptop is nearing the end of its lease, your school will receive a letter explaining how to return or keep the current laptop and order a new one.

• Log onto the End of Lease site
• Elect to keep or return the laptop
• Select courier pick up date (if returning)
• Print invoice and make payment (if purchasing)
• Complete and fax the summary sheet to 09 302 8279

Things to note

• You must return your old laptop 14 days before the lease expires. This is so any warranty or indemnity work can be done while the laptop is still under lease.
• If you don’t return your laptop within this time, your school will have to pay for any indemnity or warranty work needed.
• You or your school must save all files from the laptop being returned so you can transfer them to the new laptop.
• If an end-of-lease laptop is being kept for use outside your school by, for example, staff, family members or businesses, you must remove all software licensed for use by the Ministry, including Microsoft Office, and anti-virus software. The Ministry cannot transfer its software licenses to private individuals.
• If your school doesn’t complete end-of-lease procedures, you may not be able to lease new laptops or other equipment under the TELA scheme until any matters are resolved.
• If you have any questions about end-of-lease procedures contact Equico Finance 0800 378 426.

Research on laptop use

Three providers are evaluating the TELA scheme. They are:

• The University of Waikato
• Auckland Uniservices, and
• Otago University.

Each research party is reviewing the impact on a different teacher year group over three years.

The evaluation findings to date are encouraging, with teachers making extensive use of their laptops in a range of professional activities to support their classroom practice. There is extensive independent research that confirms the very positive impact this scheme has had on teacher practice.

You can see the latest ICT research findings on Education Counts.

TELA surveys

The Ministry of Education regularly surveys schools to gain feedback on the TELA scheme and to determine ways in which it can be improved. Surveys were undertaken in 2009 and 2011. The results of these can be found in the PDF documents at the bottom of this page. Thanks to all school staff for taking the time to participate in the surveys and for providing the Ministry with useful feedback.

If you have any trouble accessing these PDFs, please email info.tela@minedu.govt.nz.