Malton Primary School has issued a statement following what they describe as a 'safeguarding' issue yesterday (Wednesday).

The statement says: "We appreciate yesterday’s collection time was a challenging one. 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.

We are thankful to those of you who took the time to communicate your concerns to school appropriately and to those of you who took the time to ask if we 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.

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. As you have chosen to send your children to Malton Community Primary School we would hope that your support could be offered publicly in the future, in incredibly difficult and challenging time.

If you have any further questions please email info@maltonprimary.org"