Head teacher moves to calm fears after incident which led to one class barricading door

The head teacher at Malton Community Primary School has written to parents to explain an incident at the school yesterday afternoon (Wednesday).

Full details of the incident have not been released, but it led to one class barricading an internal door, and another pulling down blinds.

Head Kelly Reppold has also asked that parents are careful with what they say on social media after ‘disappointing’ posts relating to the incident were shared naming specific members of staff.

She has outlined some of the measures taken during the incident but says most were a precaution.

This is what a letter published on their website says to parents: “We appreciate yesterday’s collection time was a challenging one for you. The school had to act swiftly regarding a safeguarding matter; this is now resolved.

“Details are not allowed to be shared.

“The school has stringent safeguarding procedures in place and follows these relentlessly to ensure your children are safe. Yesterday was an example of this and should be deemed to be a reassuring example of good practice.

“We would like to take this opportunity to clarify the following:

• Your children are safe at school.
• The school did not lockdown; there was no terror or chemical threat.
• Some classes did pull down blinds; however, this was not necessary.
• One class did barricade the internal door; this was not necessary.
• Some adults stated that there were issues with the doors; this was not true and they acted with the best of intentions.
• Some adults mentioned maintenance as a reason for changes to pick up locations; this was not true and they too acted with the best of intentions.
• The police were called to take some statements; they did not require blue lights as there was no emergency.”

She said staff were thankful to parents “who took the time to communicate your concerns to school appropriately” and to those who asked if they were all OK.

“We are also grateful to those of you who have given us the time required to communicate further information and have continued to entrust us with your children’s care and safety,” she added.

“We are very disappointed that some parents used social media to air their views and alluded to some staff members specifically. This did not support staff to deal with the matter in hand but deflected their time and energy away from it.

“We appreciate the time some parents and members of the public have taken to defend
the school’s actions and to share knowledgeable and informed views. “