A SCHOOL has taken steps to reassure parents after a child was caught carrying a knife at a Colchester primary school.

The child, who is believed to be about nine or ten-years-old, was caught carrying the bladed weapon at Kendall Church of England Primary School, in Recreation Road, Colchester.

He was seen by a teacher who took immediate action.

The youngster has since been temporarily excluded from the school.

Those in the child’s class are set to undergo special lessons about knives and safety following the incident, which happened on Tuesday.

The school’s head teacher Clare French said: “We take the safety and wellbeing of our pupils very seriously.

“I would like to reassure parents that incidents such as this are extremely rare and Kendall Primary School remains a fantastic, safe place for pupils to learn.

“The knife was confiscated as soon as staff became aware of it, the pupil was given a fixed-term exclusion and police were informed.”

It is thought the child, who is in year 5, had brought the knife into school by hiding it in his coat pocket.

It was spotted during lunchtime by a teacher.

Ms French said: “While we will not tolerate such behaviour and have taken strict action to ensure it is not repeated, we have no reason to believe the pupil intended to use the knife as a weapon.

“We will, however, be doing all we can to educate pupils about the dangers of carrying knives and Key Stage 2 pupils will be participating in special lessons in the coming weeks.”

Parents learned about the incident earlier this week after being informed by staff through a letter.

One parent, whose child goes to the school and wanted to remain anonymous, said: “The parents were informed on Wednesday the child has been given a fixed term exclusion believed to end on Monday, January 16.

“The parents are not happy.”

An Essex Police spokesman said they were aware of the incident.

He said: “Police received a report that a student had been found with a knife at a school in Colchester on Tuesday, January 10.

“The schools has taken appropriate action.

“Officers have spoken to the student and enquiries are ongoing.”