We have been made aware of several so-called Zoom bombing incidents taking place during education-related online sessions over the last few weeks. From NASBTT:

"Zoom bombing refers to the deliberate disruption of a virtual meeting by uninvited individuals. Tactics include:

• Gaining access through publicly available links or fake registrations.
• Changing participant display names to impersonate others.
• Attempting to record meetings without permission.
• Sharing offensive or explicit material via screen share or chat."

The sessions which we know about were advertised via mailing lists for people to sign up to. This is slightly different from sessions run by or on behalf of the Julian Teaching School Hub, where we usually know in advance exactly who we are expecting in the room, and the link to the session is only shared with those people.

Having said that, we are aware that Zoom bombing poses a significant safeguarding risk. Facilitators are likely to deliver sessions from a school setting, and attendees could be in school or at home where children are present. We wish to reassure you that we are taking this seriously.

How you can help us keep you safe during online sessions

• Ensure that your screen name matches the name we have on our records, and includes the name of your school, before you enter the waiting room. You will not be admitted to the session if we cannot identify you.
• Be patient. It may take us longer to admit everyone from the waiting room as we will need to check names against our list of expected attendees.
• Be aware that we reserve the right to mute participants, turn off their cameras, and/or remove them from the session for any reason if we have concerns about participant or facilitator safety. Once removed, you will not be readmitted to the session.

We will reiterate these points in joining instructions sent to participants. 

We thank you in advance for your cooperation.

If something happens during an online session run by or on behalf of the Julian Teaching School Hub that makes you uncomfortable (whether related to Zoom bombing or anything else), please let us know by completing this form.