16 September 2025
Dear Parent/Carer
Staying Alert – Recent Reported Interactions with Strangers in the Local Area.
The Policing Partnership has made the school aware of one incident involving pupils from another secondary school being approached by strangers recently. The Police have also updated that today there was a sighting of someone approaching secondary students in the Marsh Hill area.
It was not possible to identify which school they went to but please check with your children and if they were approached by a stranger to contact the Police.
With these recent reports I wanted to write to all parents and remind you of the advice in relation to pupils keeping themselves safe and to ask you to have a chat with your child to ensure they know what to do if they are approached by someone they do not know.
Please remind your child not to get in a car with anyone (not just someone they don’t know) unless their parent/guardian knows who/where/when etc. and has given permission. Not leaving school with someone other than who they were expecting unless their parent/guardian knows who/where/when etc. and has given permission and they have checked with a school staff member. Not to walk off with anyone (not just someone they don’t know) unless their parent/guardian knows who/where/when etc. and has given permission. If your child is approached and someone tries to take them, stress that they must always do what they can do to draw attention to themselves and alert others to the fact they are in danger.
Please reinforce these safety messages to your children regularly without giving them the idea
that all strangers are ‘bad’. Sometimes a stranger is the only person who can help us and is a far
safer option than not talking to anyone if we find ourselves in need of help, e.g. a child lost in a
shop is far safer to tell a stranger they are lost than to wander off looking for the person from
whom they have been separated. Therefore, discussing with children how to ‘risk assess’ and who is more likely to be a trusted adult (such as a mother with a pram or small children, or someone who works in a shop with an ID badge) is good practice.
If you have any concerns at all in relation to the safety of your child, please contact the Police
and contact school and ask to speak to someone from the Safeguarding team.
Kind Regards
J. Halstead
Assistant Principal
