Coronavirus life in lockdown: Highland Council blocks children who are learning online from using Gmail
Parents and pupils have been left confused after Highland Council switched off a Gmail service for schools despite thousands of children currently learning from home due to the coronavirus lockdown.
The local authority blocked primary pupils across the region from using Gmail because of concerns raised by some parents who feared that older children could use the service to contact younger children.
Some parents are concerned they will have to email their children’s teachers for them.
The local authority confirmed the decision was taken to switch off the service by the digital development team and the interim head of education Nicky Grant – even though many schools started using Gmail more because of the lockdown.
A council spokesman explained there were “a number of factors” behind the decision, saying: “A number of parents were concerned that the Gmail system allows older pupils to email younger pupils, with the potential for misuse.
“Prior to the lockdown, Gmail was switched off for all primary pupils with the exception of a small number who made a formal request and therefore was not a daily communication tool.
“As a result of the move to home-learning the decision to enable Gmail was made to allow an additional communication tool for schools to utilise. Schools were advised to use Google Classroom as the main form of communication.
“We are aware that in these difficult times schools have made local decisions to use the most effective communication tool for their own pupils and parents, and some have begun using Gmail more frequently.
“Schools have been advised that if they wish to re-activate Gmail for their school, the head teacher is able to make this request as an interim solution to help them continue learning as they move towards using Google Classroom.
“Pupils and staff have engaged in extensive online safety awareness raising training, and where Gmail is to be re-activated, staff will ensure that normal safeguarding procedures are followed.
“In addition, next week, as part of the ongoing training programme for digital learning, additional online safety training is being offered which will supplement the existing levels of expertise.
“Highland were one of the first authorities in Scotland to develop a Highland Schools Digital Learning Hub as a resource for staff, parents and pupils to support home-learning.
“A daily programme of professional learning for all staff is in place and we are seeing increasing engagement with G-Suite for Education as a platform for learning.
“This is Highland is our new website that shares all the excellent learning, achievement and successes that are happening across our schools. The move to a virtual schools model really has shown how resilient and empowered our pupils and staff are and how supportive our parents or carers are.”
