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Solgrid for Solihull schools and academies > Access

Access

Overview

The new extranet uses Microsoft Office 365 (SharePoint Online) that the vast majority of schools already use. We are working within existing resources and with no additional budget. As a consequence, the migration will take place over a period of time – with a number of council business areas live from 25 September 2019.

We will run both extranets in parallel for a short time, giving users time to get familiar with the new extranet and giving us time to resolve any migration issues. However, we intend that the existing extranet will be closed down some time in December 2019. During the migration period, we will make clear to users (on the old extranet) which information has moved and where it can now be found.

Most schools will need to do nothing different to access the new extranet. But some schools will need to have new users set up.

Getting access – user accounts

Schools that use Solgrid’s Office 365 tenancy (for email and so forth)

Staff at the schools below can already get access to the new extranet, as all staff Office 365 Solgrid accounts have been given access – the user accounts already exist and are available for us to use. These schools will be able to get access by putting in their Office 365 account name (like their email address) and their network/Office 365 password.

  • Balsall Common Primary School
  • Bentley Heath Church of England Primary School
  • Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
  • Blossomfield Infant and Nursery School
  • Burman Infant School
  • Castle Bromwich Junior School
  • Cheswick Green Primary School
  • Coppice Junior School
  • Cranmore Infant School
  • Damson Wood Nursery and Infant School
  • Dickens Heath Community Primary School
  • Dorridge Primary School
  • Forest Oak School
  • George Fentham Endowed School
  • Greswold Primary School
  • Haslucks Green School
  • Hazel Oak School
  • Hockley Heath Academy
  • Kineton Green Primary School
  • Kingshurst Primary School
  • Knowle Church of England Primary Academy
  • Lady Katherine Leveson Church of England School
  • Langley Primary School
  • Langley School
  • Marston Green Junior School
  • Meriden Church of England Primary School
  • Merstone School
  • Mill Lodge Primary School
  • Monkspath Junior and Infant School
  • Oak Cottage Primary School
  • Olton Primary School
  • Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School
  • Our Lady of The Wayside Catholic Primary School
  • Peterbrook Primary School
  • Reynalds Cross School
  • Sharmans Cross Junior School
  • Shirley Heath Junior School
  • Smith’s Wood Community Primary School
  • St Alphege Church of England Infant and Nursery School
  • St Alphege Church of England Junior School
  • St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School
  • St Anne’s Catholic Primary School
  • St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School
  • St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School
  • St George and St Teresa Catholic Primary School
  • St John The Baptist Catholic Primary School
  • St Margaret’s Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
  • St Patrick’s Church Of England Primary Academy
  • Streetsbrook Infant and Early Years Academy
  • Summerfield Education Centre
  • Tidbury Green School
  • Triple Crown Centre
  • Tudor Grange Primary Academy – Yew Tree
  • Valley Primary School
  • Widney Junior School
  • Woodlands Infant School

Other schools

Schools that use other Microsoft Office 365 tenancies

Some other schools in Solihull also use Microsoft Office 365 with their own, separate, tenancies (implementations). Your ICT support team will be able to tell you more if you are unsure.

Therefore, it is possible for a number of staff (10-20) at these schools to be given access to the new extranet as guests, using their own Office 365 account credentials.  We would just need to know the account name (email address). We would then add the users’ details individually and they would then be able to access the extranet using their own (existing Office 365/email credentials).

We have tested this with several other tenancies and there can be a few initial issues to resolve. But we believe any issues can be resolved and the result is a good user experience – users log on to our system using the school’s existing usernames and passwords.

This does not affect school security in any way.  We choose to trust your user credentials.

What you need to do – you will not have access until this is done

  • First, it would help if you could send us details of one user account name (email address). We can then work with that user to test how our different configurations interact and, hopefully, resolve any issues. Please contact the IT service desk.
  • Then we would ask for the account details of 10-20 users from your school who would need access to the new extranet. We would then add these users. We have to restrict the number of users as it is a manual, individual, process for each user and we have limited resources.
  • You will need to tell us of changes – through the IT service desk – as staff leave or join your school.

Schools that use other email systems

Some schools do not use Microsoft Office 365 – using either Google G Suite or their own email servers.

We will set up separate user accounts for a number of users at these schools. These accounts will have unique credentials (usernames and passwords) that the user will need to keep. We are setting up new accounts for the new system – where the user can manage their own password.

What you need to do – you will not have access until this is done

  • You need to send us account details of 10-20 users from your school who would need access to the new extranet. We would then add these users. We have to restrict the number of users as it is a manual, individual, process for each user and we have limited resources. We need each user’s given name, family name and email address.
  • We will send each user their user name and password, with details of how to log in and how their account works.
  • You will need to tell us of changes – through the IT service desk – as staff leave or join your school.

Getting access – links

  • You can go to the URL – https://solgrid365.sharepoint.com/sites/council.
  • There is a link on the Solgrid internet homepage – solgrid.org.uk – which is available from anywhere with internet access.
  • There is a link on the Solgrid staff intranet landing page – solgrid.org.uk/staff – which is available from any school directly connected to the Solgrid network.
  • From the Office 365 app launcher for all staff that use the Solgrid Office 365 tenancy.

For clarity, what you can access is not affected by how you authenticate. User access is affected by staff role and type of establishment.

Getting more information

If you want more information about the migration and how to get access, please contact the Solihull Council IT service desk.