Student Chromebook Scheme

At the Cherwell School we are committed to ensuring all of our students have access to the very best platforms to assist their education. This includes access to online resources and applications which are used to help to develop skills necessary for further education and employment. Since September 2021 we have implemented our Chromebook initiative with incoming Year 7 students. Our aim is for all Cherwell students to have access to their own Chromebook by September 2025, from which they can access home learning as well as occasional in-class activities. Chromebooks are a key tool in supporting access to the world of Google Workspace for Education and the wider IT world. A chromebook is a small portable computer which runs using a Google Chrome operating system.

Parents - Please read the 'Chromebook Scheme Booklet' above, and then fill in the 'Loan / Purchase options form' before Friday 20th October.

What is it?

To ensure that devices are only being used for educational purposed during school hours, all outright purchased & loan Chromebooks will to be enrolled into Cherwell's Chromebook management system. This allows us to apply certain restrictions to the devices, most notably ensuring that personal Google accounts (i.e @gmail.com) cannot sign into the devices during school hours. These restrictions only apply during school hours, and will be switched off during the school holidays. All devices acquired through the school will come automatically enrolled. Benefits of being enrolled into our management include the ability for us to lock lost / stolen devices, provide remote assistance when requested by the user, and allow parents to control the level of filtering applied to their child's chromebook when at home.

Any any student wishing to use their own, self-purchased chromebook in school need to bring it to the IT Support Office so it can be enrolled into our management console. This is a requirement if they wish to use their device in school.

What can you see / do to the Chromebook?

While a student is signed into a Chromebook (either enrolled into our management or not) using their school account, the following things are recorded:

• Browser & YouTube History (which websites have been visited)

• YouTube History (which videos have been accessed (note - restricted mode is applied))

• Google Search History (which search terms a student uses (note - safesearch is forced))

• Access to any ‘flagged content’ (e.g. self harm, radicalisation and sites blocked by filtering)

Offsite, Chromebooks signed in with a school account, will receive a less restrictive level of filtering. For example, age permitting, social media sites such as Facebook are allowed. Parents can control the level of filtering to apply further restrictions or remove others when using the devices off-site. You can read more about our internet filtering system here.

In school, during school hours only, a teacher can:

• View student onscreen activity

• Restrict browsing of a group or an individual

• Close and open tabs for students.

What happens if I leave Cherwell?

When leaving Cherwell, the chromebook will be completely removed from our management and you do as you wish with it.

If you are moving from Cherwell to another RLT school then you just need to inform the IT Support team at the new school about the chromebook, and they can move the Chromebook into their management seamlessly.