Getting Started - A Teacher's Guide to Carousel

Congratulations – you’ve been invited to your school’s Carousel Platinum account!

Carousel is designed to integrate Retrieval Practice and everyday teaching, strengthening the connection between homework and classwork to boost student outcomes and reduce your workload.

Here’s everything you need to get started and make the most of your Carousel experience.

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Getting Started - Stage 1

Getting Started - Stage 2

Beyond the Basics

Stay in the Loop

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Step 1: Accept Your Invitation

Your school’s Carousel Admin has sent an invitation to your school email address. 

Click the link to activate your Platinum account – note that the link expires after 72 hours.

HELP! 

• I missed the window to accept the invitation!
  • No problem! Just ask your Carousel Admin to resend the invite, or contact us at [e-mail].

• I'm already a Carousel user!
  If you have a Gold or Silver account, it will automatically fold into the Platinum one.

  • Your Question Banks will appear on your new dashboard.
  • Any quizzes you previously created will be available to duplicate (in QUIZZES (MIGRATED)) and assign to your new classes.
• My account still says Gold or Silver!

If you're not seeing Platinum after logging in:

• Double check that you clicked the most recent invitation link
• Make sure you’re logging in with the exact email the invite was sent to (watch for spelling errors or autofill mix-ups!)

 Still stuck? Email us at [e-mail]

Step 2: Take the Tour

Get to know what's what in your account.

• Select TOUR from the dropdown menu in the top right hand corner of the screen to be shown what's where.
• Watch this short video for a quick-fire tour of all of Carousel's best bits.
• Visit the CPD tab at the top of your account for an introductory course 'Getting Started', designed to guide you through getting started with Carousel Learning!  It will teach you how to........

Step 3: Add a Question Bank

Question Banks are the core of Carousel – they’re the building blocks of your quizzes.
We recommend:

• Start by adding a readymade Community Question Bank for your first quiz.

• Use the filters to easily locate your Subject and Key Stage.

• You can customise or create your own banks later as you get familiar.
   

Step 4: Set Your First Quiz

Once your Question Bank is ready:

• Set a short quiz (around 5 questions) to get started.

• Students might already be using Carousel in other subjects – go at the pace that suits your class! 

What do the students see?

Use the DEMO class to practice assigning Quizzes and log in as a DEMO student to experience it from their perspective.

Step 5: Identify and Share Key Feedback

Review the students' self-marking and choose what to include in Whole Class Feedback to:

• Tackle common misconceptions
• Reinforce expectations
• Embed retrieval practice
   

Step 6: Use Whiteboard Quizzes

Use Whiteboard Quizzes at the start of your lesson as a Do Now activity.

They’re great for:

• Reinforcing homework content
• Creating fast, low-effort review moments
• Driving up homework engagement
   

Download our Smashing Your Starter guide to help plan your lesson starts.

Step 7: Use the Analysis Tools

With Platinum, you get full access to our Premium Analytics. Visit the ANALYSIS area to:

• Track engagement with Quizzes, Study Packs, and Whiteboards
• Spot trends, identify gaps, and celebrate great practice
   

Step 8: Get Everyone on the Same Page

• Share this video link with students new to Carousel.
• Find resources at the bottom of this guide to share with parents, helping them support learning at home.

There are loads of other great FREE resources available to you too - don't forget to check them out.

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Beyond the Basics

When you're ready to go further, unlock more of Platinum’s potential:

• Use C-Scores to optimise question selection for each quiz.
• Introduce Study Packs for independent revision – ideal for the upper key stages.
• Customise or create curriculum-aligned Question Banks.
• Collaborate with colleagues to build high-quality shared resources.
• Edit your preferences  in your profile to customise the default language and quiz settings.
• Dive deeper into the thinking behind Carousel by reading our blog.

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Stay in the Loop

You can book into our free webinars, that we run through the year, here.

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive top tips, feature updates, and invitations to training opportunities and events – like this webinar hosted on Getting Started!  Why not watch now?

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We are always on hand and happy to help if something isn't clear or you have questions - [e-mail]