Google Classroom                                  

Google Classroom: helpful documents

Updated: 10/01/2021 1.13 MB
Updated: 11/10/2021 185 KB
Updated: 10/01/2021 148 KB

Remote education provision: information for parents:

Please see below the information you will need during times when pupils are expected to remain at home during national or local restrictions. 

We use Google Classroom (details below) to provide remote education to pupils who are learning from home (either as whole cohorts or individually). Whilst this will be very different to a normal education in school, we will make this as accessible as possible for all pupils. For those who require access to technology, we are able to provide devices such as iPads on request and depending on availability. Printed work packs are also provided as necessary which can be returned to the school; for example, where access to technology or the internet is not possible or to cater for specific learning needs. 

To discuss the possibility of borrowing an iPad from the school or to request access to printed materials, please contact selwoodacademy@educ.somerset.gov.uk

For technical support with the use of Google Classroom, please contact gctechhelp@selwood-academy.co.uk 

  • Content will be provided for up to 5 hours of lessons per day for all year groups. Pupils should follow their normal school timetable, checking each classroom for the day's lessons. Here, you will also find links to any scheduled live lessons. 
  • This is made available form the first day pupils are asked to stay at home
  • Online content will be the same curriculum as that taught in school. However, some adaptations will be needed for some subjects. For example, Art, Music, DT, Drama, PE and Computing may have adapted sequences of lessons to best accommodate the home environment.
  • This will also include pre-recorded and live lessons. These are offered by teachers as and when this is beneficial to learning.

Engagement and feedback:

  • All pupils able to access Google Classroom are expected to access their lessons each day following the normal school timetable. 
  • Pupils should register each morning, by completing a short form available in their 'year group' Google Classroom
  • As pupils engage with their lessons online, teachers will award a 'Home Learning Achievement Point'. This assists us in monitoring engagement in all subjects and we will reward those pupils who are engaging with lessons. 
  • Each week we will monitor registration in the morning and also engagement with lessons. When a lack of engagement with learning becomes a concern, the school will make contact by email and/or phone to inform parents/carers and to find a resolution and offer additional support.  
  • Teachers will provide regular feedback on work that is submitted to set assignments. This will be written or audio feedback, whole class written and/or live video feedback and by the completion of quizzes and  tests. 

Additional Support for pupils with particular needs:

  • The school will maintain close contact with pupils with SEND and their families and will offer online support. 
  • This will also include personalised learning resources provided by each  of their teachers and also by our specialist Learning Support Department who maintain regular contact with children and their families. This will be made available via Google Classroom and as printed resources as appropriate.

Supporting your Child:

  • Find your new routines. Consistent routines are important for behaviour in school and our routines at home have changed significantly. Routines support behaviour and you will be finding a new rhythm for your family. You could share the video below with your child. Talk to them to help them plan their new routines.
  • Look for the positives. Because you need to be on the ball when things go wrong, it is easy to focus only on the unwanted behaviours and spend time addressing those with our children. If we can also catch them doing things right and praise this behaviour, we’re likely to get more of it. Could your daily routines include activities where your child is likely to make you proud?
  • Model the coping techniques you are using. Children are still learning to self-regulate their emotions and behaviours. It’s likely that we will also face new challenges during this period: finding a new workspace, managing anxiety, being productive under new circumstances. Talk to your child about the struggles you face and how you are addressing them – and don’t be afraid to be open about getting it wrong and trying a different strategy. Encourage your children to explain the approaches they are trying too.
  • Remember, there are no shortcuts. The most important principle for teachers in managing behaviour is to get to know and understand each pupil individually. This is good news! You already know your child. Speak to your child and trust your judgement about what works for them above any generic advice.
  • Mental health & wellbeing: This is becoming all the more more important as restrictions on daily life continue. Each week your children will be able to meet as a tutor group for a well-being catch-up and our daily registers help us to keep in touch with young people who tell us they are unhappy. Each day, we monitor responses and make contact when necessary to offer support. The following organisations also offer information and support:

What is Google Classroom (G Suite For Education)?

Your child will need to select a new password at first logon. If you have not received your letter, or if a password reset is required, please contact the school at selwoodacademy@educ.somerset.gov.uk. 

G Suite for Education is a set of education productivity tools from Google including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Classroom and more. For each of their classes, pupils will be set work on Google Classroom. ‘Assignments’ will be set and pupils are asked to ‘hand in/submit’ work when it is completed for teachers to mark. This will mean that up to 5 hours of work will be provided each day, following the normal school curriculum. This work will be monitored and feedback will be given at the appropriate time. Staff will record engagement in activities and lessons. Non-engagement is monitored weekly.

Live-Streaming Lessons 

Teachers may wish to live-stream lessons from their homes or classrooms. This will only be done using the Google Meet platform that can be accessed from Google Classroom or pre-recorded videos will only be used when the teacher feels this would be beneficial to enhance learning and teaching. Previously, the school has used Microsoft Teams to achieve this. Google Classroom will now become our preferred system to assist with remote learning. All Google Meets are recorded and will be available for any pupils who could not attend the live meet. 

Children use a login that Selwood has provided to access the system. With school accounts, work and emails cannot be shared with external email accounts. Google require basic information to set up these accounts: e.g. your child’s first and last name in order to create an account.  Our pupil accounts have several security settings that reflect the fact that the system is being used by a child. 

Data-Protection

Google provide information about what they can and cannot do with your child’s personal information. You can read Google’s Privacy notice here: 
https://gsuite.google.com/terms/education_privacy.html. On this page, Google provide answers to many common questions, including the types of information Google collects. When creating a pupil account, we provide Google with certain personal information about our pupils, including, for example, a name, email address and membership to their classes. The school will not support the upload of personal photos of children

Common Questions:

Does Google use personal information for users in primary schools to target advertising?
No. Google does not use any personal information to target ads, whether in Core Services or in other Additional Services accessed while using an G Suite for Education account.

Can my child share information with others using the G Suite for Education account?
We allow pupils to access Google services such as Google Docs. Users can share information with others within our school domain. 

Will Google disclose my child’s personal information?
Google will not share personal information with companies, organisations and individuals outside of Google unless one of the following circumstances applies:
•    With parent/guardian consent. 
•    Pupils are provided with school-managed accounts, which means our school administrators have access to information stored in them.
•    For external processing. Google may provide personal information to affiliates or other trusted businesses or persons to process it for Google, based on Google’s instructions and in compliance with the G Suite for Education privacy notice and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures. https://policies.google.com/privacy/update 

•  For legal reasons. Google will share personal information with companies, organisations or individuals outside of Google if it has a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to:

  • meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request.
  • enforce applicable Terms of Service, including investigation of potential violations.
  • detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues.
  • protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of Google, Google users or the public as required or permitted by law.

What choices do I have as a parent or guardian?

If you prefer not to provide your consent, we will remove access to a G Suite for Education account for your child. You can request deletion of your child’s G Suite for Education account by contacting the school at selwoodacademy@educ.somerset.gov.uk. If you wish to stop any further collection or use of your child's information, you can request that we use limit your child’s access to features or services or delete your child’s account entirely. 

You and your child can also visit  https://myaccount.google.com  while signed into the G Suite for Education account to view and manage the personal information and settings of the account.

What if I have more questions?
If you have questions about our use of Google’s G Suite for Education accounts or the choices available to you, please contact the school.

If you want to learn more about how Google collects, uses, and discloses personal information, please use the following links:
•    Google Privacy Policy https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/
•    G Suite for Education Privacy Center https://www.google.com/edu/trust/
•    G Suite for Education Privacy Notice https://gsuite.google.com/terms/education_privacy.html
•    Google’s Apps for Education agreement https://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/terms/education_terms.html