Police attend Wybourn primary school in Sheffield after mum reports alleged 'knife threats'
A Sheffield mum has removed her children from school because of concerns around the dangers of knives.
Leah Anne Barry said she had pulled her children out of lessons at Wybourn Community Primary and Nursery School because of her concerns about the issue.
It comes after South Yorkshire Police received a complaint that a pupil had been threatened online, outside school hours. Officers say they could find no evidence to support the allegations.
The concerns were raised publicly by Ms Barry, who said she wanted parents and carers to be aware of what she described as a “safety issue.”
She alleged that a pupil had made threats on social media about bringing a knife into school.
She said the message was shown to a parent and subsequently reported to police.
But she later withdrew her children from school, stating she did not feel reassured.
South Yorkshire Police confirmed they received a ‘third-party’ report from a parent at 10.10am on Monday 26 January relating to alleged threats made online, outside school hours around two weeks earlier, but could find no evidence of the alleged incident.
The allegations were around threats being made against a pupil at Wybourn Community Primary and Nursery School.
Officers attended the school on Tuesday January 27, where they spoke with senior leaders and ensured appropriate safeguarding measures were in place.
Police said there was no evidence of any weapon and no direct threat identified towards an individual.
A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “We are continuing to work closely with the school and remain in contact with the parties involved to ensure the continued safety of everyone.
“This has included a further reassurance visit to the school yesterday (January 29), and plans are in place to deliver appropriate inputs for the school community about knife crime and social media safety.”
In a statement, headteacher Hannah Thornley said safeguarding was the school’s highest priority.
She said: “I want to assure families that the safety of children is at the heart of all we do in school. We take any concerns raised by families seriously, including those that happen out of school.
“We have robust safeguarding processes in place and work hard with partners such as South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield Safeguarding Hub to ensure pupil and staff safety is maintained at all times.
“The school is aware of reports of safeguarding concerns on social media. We carry out risk assessments when concerns are raised and, if necessary, put safety plans in place.
“I cannot comment on incidents involving individual pupils, however we continue to provide ongoing support and education for pupils linked to social media and the community police will be working with older pupils tomorrow to share a presentation on knife crime.
“We will continue to provide support to our pupils, parents, carers and the rest of the Wybourn community and answer any concerns they may have.“
Police said plans are in place to deliver further inputs around knife crime and online safety to the school community.