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G Suite was rolled out in September 2019 and not only has it enhanced collaboration between teachers and classes across the six schools in the borough of Sutton that form LEO Academy Trust but it has proved to be a lifeline during lockdown.
Using the platform, pupils in the trust can video-call their teachers for remote lessons and have supervised group calls to catch up and check in with each other socially. 'It is a great way of keeping in touch with friends and they feel that they still have a place in the school community,' said Graham Macaulay, Director of Technology at LEO Academy Trust.
It was not a spur of the moment decision to adopt Google. Senior managers started to look at the possibilities over two years ago as they were keen to move to the cloud to improve efficiency and save the trust money. In fact, G Suite is saving the trust over £48,000 a year. But the main benefit is that they have been able to provide their 4000 or so pupils with a Chromebook free of charge and, in a world where politicians are still unable to guarantee access to devices and broadband during lockdown, that puts LEO Academy Trust pupils ahead of the game.
Seeing how other schools used Google Classroom
Macaulay feels that the implementation has been especially successful because of the time spend in planning. 'We spent about two years on the strategy,' he said. 'We were talking to stakeholders and taking feedback from all sectors of the organisation. So, when we came to implement the strategy, people understood what they were doing and why.'
First, they looked at what other schools were doing. The executive team went to Britannia Village Primary School in Newham and worked closely with the school finding out what worked and using them as a sounding board.