A HEADTEACHER has revealed cases of students from outside his school "Zoom-bombing" online lessons.

Dr Paul Hayman, head of Westcliff High School for Girls, wrote to parents about the incidents as he lifted the lid on how schools are coping with online learning. 

In the letter, Dr Hayman said teachers will now all pupils in online lessons are identified.

Dr Hayman said: "There have been some instances of pupils who are not part of our school joining a teacher’s lesson.

"As part of our safeguarding procedures, staff record lessons. We have asked that all our pupils should be identifiable when taking part in one of these lessons."

The school is also threatening to sanction and potentially exclude students following an incident where screenshots were taken from a Zoom lesson.

The school has said pupils recorded parts of the lesson which saw students comment on the teacher appearance when posted on social media.

Dr Hayman added: "Some pupils have separately videoed or copied part of a lesson delivered via Zoom and posted the recording on social media.

"Some pupils have then commented on staff's appearance. Any pupil we identify doing this will be sanctioned, and this can include a formal exclusion which will go on their school record."

It comes as parents at the school are reportedly calling for more of their children's lessons to be "live".

Dr Hayman responded by saying teachers also have to juggle family lives.

He said: "Some parents have asked for more ‘live lessons.’

"In an ideal world we would like every remote lesson to be ‘live’ but not only do we have families where IT equipment has to be shared, but teachers also have to juggle family lives with the delivery of remote teaching.

"As written last week, Ofsted have said that said 'Sometimes, it may be more effective to deliver remote education through worksheets or a textbook. All schools/colleges should have access to a digital platform so they can provide online education where that is the most appropriate method.

"A good textbook can provide the curriculum content and sequencing pupils need. It can also be easier to access for some pupils.'"

"Our staff will continue with a variety of delivery styles."