Home   Stamford   News   Article

Subscribe Now

Brooke Hill Primary School in Oakham apologises after children see explicit images during Zoom quiz after password was shared on social media




Schoolchildren were shown explicit images during an online quiz after a private password was shared on social media by teaching staff.

Pupils at Brooke Hill Primary School in Oakham were taking part in the activity on Zoom yesterday (Tuesday, May 5) when the images appeared on screen.

Staff quickly brought the meeting to a halt, but not before most of the children had seen the inappropriate material. It is not known how many children were involved in the quiz.

Brooke Hill Academy in Oakham. Photo: Google Maps (34402676)
Brooke Hill Academy in Oakham. Photo: Google Maps (34402676)

It is thought the content was posted by a third party who gatecrashed the meeting after a member of staff shared the event's private password on social media.

The school's secure communication system ParentMail wasn't working at the time so parents has been asking for the access code on Facebook and Twitter.

Executive headteacher Sharon Milner has issued an apology.

She said: "A member of the team did put the Zoom event’s password on social media very briefly but it was very quickly taken down.

"We wanted to ensure that everyone who wanted to participate could, but on reflection sharing the password on social media was an unintended error on our part.

"I would once again like to apologise to our school community and reassure them that lessons have been learnt and that our focus is always on their safety and happiness."

Many schools are currently using online platforms such as Zoom to deliver educational content during lockdown.

The matter has been reported to the Local Authority Designated Safeguarding Officer in line with the school's safeguarding policy.

Brooke Hill's technology provider is trying to trace the user and will pass any information to the police.

Mrs Milner added: "Our team and the wider school community are incredibly upset.

"We acted as quickly as we could to terminate the event and close the page but sadly the image was seen by most of the participants.

"We issued an immediate apology to everyone involved and I would like to reiterate this on behalf of the governing body of Brooke Hill Academy Trust.

"We are all shocked by what happened during what should have been a fun and collaborative event that was designed to bring everyone together during the current crisis.

"During this time, it is important that our school community can still come together and I know that the quiz event has been enthusiastically received and that families would like to continue with it.

"Therefore, we are currently considering other platforms on which we can host the weekly quiz and we will issue details as soon as possible.

"However I would like to reassure all families that Zoom will not be used by school for any form of meetings or group discussions moving forward.

"Off of the back of this incident, we would also encourage that all parents discuss e-safety with their children, especially as we are currently living in a much more ‘remote’ world and are all learning how to use technology in the best way possible."



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More