As class providers we all want to do our best to keep children as safe as possible. Online classes present a challenge with this, but there are some steps you can take to help protect everyone.

Remember to do your own full risk assessment based on the needs of your class, and to issue appropriate guidance to your customers to keep their children safe - such as having an adult present whenever they are using the internet etc.

Happity will send your customers an automatic reminder before the class starts - this email asks them to join the class with your link, tells them that you will be checking their name off against the register. It also asks them to keep their camera switched on and that you reserve the right to remove them from the class if they refuse to switch it on or behave otherwise unsuitably.

You'll automatically receive an email from Happity with a list of who to expect in your class before it starts - but you can also access this at any time from the 'Registers' list in your dashboard.

We strongly recommend using the waiting room feature, as this will give you the option to 'Admit' or 'Remove' each person as they join the class (click 'Participants' to open this box).

If you have a 'Pro' Zoom account, you can also customise the waiting room and remind them to check their onscreen name matches their booking according to your requirements (e.g. you might prefer them to use first names and a surname initial only, or if it's a small class, to use their child's first name).
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​Make sure you charge something for each booking. Even if you normally offer a free trial, this is not a good idea in an online world. By making sure everyone in your class has had to use a credit card, in the worst case scenario, you would at least be able to provide the police with a paper trail for your participants.

As the host, you have the ability to disable, or enable the camera for anyone in your class. You also have the right to remove them.

Whilst we do remind everyone that they are required to keep their camera on, it's worth highlighting this at the start of your class - and if you are a pro Zoom user - customising your waiting room to display a reminder about this too.

To remove a participant, point to their name and a 'More' button will appear. Click on this and select 'Ask to Start Video' to switch on their camera, or click 'Remove' to remove them from the room.

Participants on larger screens (like laptops and tablets) may see a 'Record' button in the Zoom app. They are NOT able to record - but if they click the button, they could potentially request permission (from you) to make a recording on their device.

You can go one step further and remove the 'Record' button completely from their view of the app.

i. Go to Zoom.us and log in to your account.
ii. Click 'Settings'
iii. Under the 'Recording' Tab, click the button next to 'Local recording' so that it is greyed out. 

NB:- this option also affects your own ability to record the session, as it will mean you can't record in Zoom on your own computer. The 'cloud recording' option will still be available to you if you need it, so if you use the 'Record' function in Zoom the video will be saved within your zoom.us account. 

However, if you are going to record anything in your sessions then you of course MUST make sure you have permission from your customers. 

Under the 'Meeting' tab search for the 'Screen Sharing' section and change this to 'Host only'. 

This is an important step because screen sharing not only normally allows a participant to show their computer screen to everyone else - it also unmutes them.

Secondly, scroll to or search for 'File transfer' and switch this OFF. This will prevent anyone from being able to share files.

Most importantly, never ever post your Zoom meeting ID publicly. And preferably - do not use your 'Personal Zoom ID' as this is a permanent number for your Zoom account. 

Instead, create your Zoom meeting links using Zoom's scheduling tool. This means you've always got the option to generate new ones if you think your link has been compromised (i.e. this might be appropriate if you suddenly find you're getting a lot of unregistered people entering the waiting room). 

You can also use the scheduling tool to enable passwords on your meetings if appropriate. However, by default Zoom will embed your password within the meeting link in an encrypted format so that anyone who has the link would still be able to join. This means the only security it adds, is that it prevents someone from randomly guessing your meeting room ID (and if that happened, you simply wouldn't let them in from the waiting room anyway).

If you want people to actually type in a password to join the room, you will also need to find 'Embed password in meeting link for one-click join' in the meeting settings and switch it off, and then send your password to all of your customers separately.

If you do need to create new Zoom meeting details at any point, please remember to update the link in your Happity dashboard. As long as you do this more than two hours before your class is due to start, your new room details will be automatically sent to all your registered attendees.