Google Meet for live lessons in Hwb

Google Meet is for online video calls and meetings and enables practitioners to:

deliver live lessons
support collaboration
maintain learning continuity

Learners can connect with their practitioners and peers in real time, whether learning remotely or catching up on missed content.

All school staff and learners with Hwb accounts have access to Google Meet through Google Workspace for Education.

This guidance outlines key points and considerations for using Google Meet to support live lessons. Practitioners and school leaders can explore Google for Education courses and resources for full step-by-step support and practical implementation.

How to access Google Meet in Hwb

There are 2 main ways to access Google Meet from the Hwb platform:

log in to Hwb and select the Google for Education app from the dashboard. Then open Meet from the app launcher (the grid icon in the top-right corner)
alternatively, go directly to meet.google.com and sign in using your Hwb account. Always check that you are signed in with your Hwb credentials, not a personal Google account

Language settings

For practitioners and learners in Welsh medium schools, Welsh will be selected as the default language. For those in English medium schools, English will be selected by default. Learn how to change your language settings.

Formats for live lessons

Google Meet supports flexible lesson delivery formats for up to 100 participants, including:

instant meetings for quick, ad-hoc sessions
scheduled meetings via Google Calendar for structured lessons with automatic joining links
recurring meetings for regular classes or group sessions

Practitioners with the Google Teaching and Learning upgrade license can also record lessons and share with learners who were unable to attend live. Find out more about recording a video meeting.

Data assurances

Schools should review or update their Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) when using Google Meet for live lessons.
Google Meet through Hwb adheres to UK GDPR and data protection standards.
Practitioners must ensure no personal, sensitive or confidential information is shared during the use of Google Meet.
By default, Google Meet retains past activity for individual users indefinitely. This includes details such as the date, time, duration of meetings, and the names of participants. To set an 'Auto-delete' cadence of 3, 18, or 36 months go to meet.google.com, check that you are signed in with your Hwb credentials. Then click on the Settings icon and then Call history.
All data in Google Meet including video, audio and chat data is encrypted while it travels over the internet. However, if using a phone for audio in a meeting, your call might not be encrypted. This is because your audio goes over the phone company's network. For more information visit Security and privacy for Meet education editions (Google Workspace Admin Help).
When recording is enabled, Google Meet automatically saves the recording in the meeting organiser’s Google Drive, inside the 'Meet Recordings' folder. Ensure that recordings are stored, shared, and deleted safely and securely in Google Drive, in line with your school’s data protection processes and access controls. For further guidance read recording lessons and sessions: important UK GDPR considerations.

Key considerations when using Google Meet for live lessons

Ensure that all staff read and adhere to the Delivering online learning: safeguarding principles and practice.
Google Meets generated from Google Classroom are set to 'Restricted' and prevents learners joining a meeting until a practitioner joins. All other new meetings, created outside of Google Classroom are set to 'Trusted' and by default, learners can join before the meeting host (practitioner). Read tips to control meeting access to learn about host controls to prevent early joining.
Only share meeting links with learner’s authorised Hwb accounts.
Use the waiting room and host controls to manage who can join, share their screen or use chat.
Encourage engagement with features like reactions, hand raising and digital whiteboard. Polls and Q&A features are only available with the Google Teaching and Learning upgrade licence.
Live captions are available in a range of languages to support accessibility for all learners.
Recording in Google Meet is not included with the Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals license. To enable recording, a Google Teaching and Learning upgrade license is required. Learn more about recordings.