Parents at a high school in Midlothian say the received an ‘alarming’ text, with many ‘reluctant’ to send their kids to school.
On Tuesday November 26, parents at Penicuik High School received a text informing them of an “incident”, encouraging pupils to return to school if they feel “threatened or unsafe”
A spokesperson for Midlothian Council has since confirmed a pupil was allegedly ‘threatened’ by someone from another school, and instead of reporting the incident to staff, left school.
Various parents contacted Edinburgh Live, expressing concern after they recieved the text, and claimed they were not letting their child attend school until they were reassured there was no harm to pupils.
One parent said “it’s alarming to say the least” as they tried calling the office in the hope of receiving clarification, but were allegedly told no further information could be shared.
The parent said: “It’s alarming to say the least especially since they’re withholding information when it’s sounds to me and other parents I’ve spoken to that we should have been advised.
“In my 17 years of being a parent I have never had an alarming text from the three schools my three children have and still attend. They have advised to to ring later.
“My child won’t be back until they inform us of what this alarming message is about.”
The message from the school read: “Following an incident, we would like to remind all students to return to school if they feel threatened or unsafe. Please pass this on to your child.”
Another parent also called the school seeking answers and said they were reluctant to let their child attend school on Tuesday.
The council have confirmed it is updating parents on Tuesday with further guidance as to how pupils should respond if a similar thing was to happen on school property.
A Midlothian Council spokesman said: “The text was to remind pupils to return to school if they feel unsafe. It was sent after a boy was allegedly threatened on school grounds by another boy who was not one of our pupils.
“Instead of initially coming to staff to report the incident, the boy left school. We are updating parents today with further guidance as to what pupils should do if such incidences happen again.”
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