Virtual Learning- Google Classroom

G Suite for Education is a set of education productivity tools from Google including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Classroom, and more used by tens of millions of students and teachers around the world.

Google Classroom is an online learning platform that is a central part of G Suite for Education. It provides a system for teachers to create, share, and mark classwork and for students to access and complete assignments. Classroom works with other G Suite applications, such as Google Drive, Docs, and Meet.

At Newcroft Primary Academy, pupils use this online learning platform to complete homework, communicate with their teachers, and learn 21st century digital citizenship skills.

Our Virtual Learning Offer

We use Google Classroom as a virtual classroom for every year group, should we have to close a bubble due to Covid 19, or if there is a whole school closure. This will include live teaching, recorded lessons, linked tasks and independent tasks that can be completed by children, with parental support.

For pupils who are isolating, while their families follow the Government's Household Guidance, work has been set, linked to the learning in the classroom. 

Our Virtual Learning Policy can be found in our policies section. 

Click here to read our quick guide to our school virtual learning offer

Click here to view our Virtual Reading offer

Virtual Learning for pupils with SEND

Each of our pupils with SEND has an ISP in place, which is reviewed termly by class teachers, support staff and the school's SENCO, in partnership with parents. All of our pupils with SEND are given small step, individually personalised targets to help them to make as much progress as possible. 

Some of these targets can be worked on and developed through quality first teaching in live and recorded lessons on Google Classroom. Some of the targets can be met through the work set to complete after lessons or independently. Other targets cannot always be met in this virtual learning environment, so we have designed a SEND area of our Learning Hub for parents and pupils to access from home. The links to activities are grouped by area e.g. Speech, Language, Communication and Interaction or Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Please click to take you to the SEND area of our Learning Hub.

If you have any questions about how to support your child with SEND at home, please contact your child's class teacher or our SENCo, via WEDUC. 

FAQs

Why have we started using Google Classroom?

G Suite for Education is a free service offered by Google to schools and educational institutions across the world. It provides a safe and secure environment for online learning, allowing teachers to set appropriate restrictions and controls for their pupils and complying with the latest privacy and security regulations.

Google Classroom is used by many local secondary schools, so pupils will already be familiar with its use by the time they move on from Newcroft. More generally, information technology is becoming increasingly cloud-based and collaborative; it is important for future generations to be confident in the use of this technology.

G Suite for Education includes a range of tools that are accessible directly from a browser – it does not require any software. This means that pupils can fully participate in their online learning through a range of devices, without the need for expensive software and apps such as Microsoft Office.

How do I access Google Classroom at home?

To access Classroom, go to https://www.google.co.uk or https://classroom.google.com in your browser, then sign in with your child’s G Suite account. You may also install the free Google Classroom app on either Android or iOS (and iPadOS) devices.

For more detailed guidance, click here to view the Google Classroom Parents’ Guide.

How do I know my child will be safe on Google Classroom?

Google Classroom is designed specifically for schools, with comprehensive restrictions and monitoring built in. Pupils will only have access to the online tools they need to complete their learning, so tools such as Gmail and YouTube are disabled.

Click here to view the G Suite for Education (Online) Agreement.

Click here to view the G Suite for Education Privacy Notice.