Parents at some Victorian public primary schools are being asked to buy their children tablets or laptops as part of Bring Your Own Device policies.

But many have raised concerns around the cost involved and the safety of the devices in the hands of primary school-aged children.

Each school has a level of autonomy when it comes to device requirements and how they are acquired; some schools opt to provide devices and ask parents to pay an annual levy.

However for Carol, a parent of three children attending a primary school in Greensborough in north-east Melbourne, that was not an option.

She has had to buy an iPad Air 2 for her 10-year-old son, Red — the total cost with the required apps was well over $700.

10-year-old Red with his new tablet, ready for the first day of year five. ( ABC Radio Melbourne: Fiona Pepper )

"I think it's quite onerous," she said.

"I would've preferred that the school charge a levy given that the technology is made obsolete so often; we're just going to have a stack of iPads piling up at home."

The secondary school her son will attend in two years' time requires parents to supply devices also, however they are a "non-Apple" school, rendering her recent iPad purchase redundant.

With the first day of school for Victorian students looming, Carol said she felt some apprehension sending her child to school with such an expensive device.

"It worries me a fair bit because the school has said that the child takes all responsibility and the school takes no responsibility for the technology.

"I think it is a bit rough when you consider we've been told we must provide it.

"If he drops it on the first day of school and it's shattered we just have to go and buy another one; it's not covered by the school's insurance."

Other Victorian parents and teachers of primary school students told ABC Radio Melbourne they had similar concerns.

"I have twin boys. I had to buy them both new iPads at the start of last year. My kids' spelling has gone backwards due to predicted spelling and they do exactly the same homework as my other son three years ago who did not require an iPad. What's the point?" — Emma, Brighton.

"Devices are a blight on education. They should be banned from schools. Students should get a laptop in year seven. No devices in primary school. If they want to learn how to play games on an iPad, they should do that at home." — Year two teacher, Boronia.

"As a dyslexic student my son could really benefit from the use of iPads or computers in the classroom. In our experience across three schools, teachers are very ignorant of how to implement their use and tech support is virtually non existent." — Sarah, Rowville.

Parent Payment Policy revised

The Department of Education and Training Victoria recently revised the Parent Payment Policy with a stronger focus on transparency and family hardship, as well as outlining expectations of schools when communicating with parents about personal device plans.

Gail McHardy, executive officer of Parents Victoria which represents parents of children in public schools, said the autonomy each school had when determining device requirements had been problematic.

"In the past there has been some frustrations shared by families over a number of years because of the release of laptops and netbooks," she said.

"Following on from some Federal Government changes around the funding of programs has meant we've resulted in a Bring Your Own Device policy and programs."

Schools get caught in political juggle

Yet, Ms McHardy was quick to defend the position of primary schools in the decision-making process.

"Schools get caught in the middle; they have to meet the demands of a current government but also meet the expectations of a community, but they have budget constraints."

She said she was pleased with the revisions of the Parent Payment Policy but said it could go further in encouraging schools to communicate more clearly with families.

"Issues around equity needed to be amplified and how families needed to be supported, the policy has certainly done a lot more in that space."