A message sent to parents from Calday Grammar ...

“Dear Parent/Carer

“It has come to our attention that a potential grooming situation may be taking place on Facebook/Snapchat and Instagram. A person called J roberts is attempting to make contact with younger females. We are unsure if this person is also targetting [sic] young male students and therefore we ask all parents to be vigilant and ensure that their child’s privacy settings are on the highest setting.

“If you become aware of any suspicious activity please report it at: www.ceop.police.uk. [the National Crime Agency website].”

SOURCE

Hhhmm...........sounds a bit 'Facebooky' doesn't it? Sort of like the multiple white vans going around stealing dogs/bikes/children. These alarmist postings are one of the reasons I left FB.

Considering it originates from a school it is written in a very unprofessional manner especially with the spelling mistake you picked up.

I would have thought a more general letter warning of all grooming attempts not just 'J.Roberts' would have been more appropriate.

Considering the reluctance of the school to comment makes me wonder if some admin has done this off her own back without proper authorisation?

You'd be surprised how many creeps park up around schools in the mornings, afternoon, breaks and when kids are on the sports fields. Schools report them and the police move them on but nothing else can be done because no offence has been committed. There are also the dog walkers passing at the appropriate time walking into lamp posts etc because their thoughts are elsewhere. Yes. some might be innocent relatives etc but when they do a runner if a member of staff approaches it would suggest otherwise.

One example was a bin lorry that "conveniently" had a regular tea break outside a girl's school (Wirral Grammar) just before opening time.

I'm not the fantasy police but when fantasies start interacting with the real world there is a problem.

Then on a similar line are the drug dealers that hang around the sweet shops near schools at the appropriate time, this might happen less these days as drugs are now in the schools but this used to be a problem near Park High.

Oh yes I agree with you, there is a very real problem. I meant that the actual letter was a bit Facebooky and a bit amateurish. I couldn't string a sentence together when I finished school but I worked hard at English later on and it did not seem very well composed considering it was from a school.

From my own schooldays in Essex I know all about what is on offer at the school gates or nearby vicinity. Also having spent a lot of time hanging around the streets in the bad old days, I used to notice a lot of goings on that would escape most people. That too is a reason the bobby on the beat was much more effective than police in cars.

"One example was a bin lorry that "conveniently" had a regular tea break outside a girl's school (Wirral Grammar) just before opening time" and? . Funny the bus pulls up outside the school every day..is the bus driver a perv? Could be many reasons a bin lorry stopped in the same place..there is/was a place to buy tea opposite the school, a bin lorry is a big vehicle to find a place to park without blocking driveways, they reach the same place the same time on that round..Have you seen the creepy man in a high viz coat who is outside the girls school every morning as they go in and again in the afternoon when they are coming out..very fishy character waving his lolipop around ! Come on less of the paranoia...

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When you witness something its not paranoia, when you don't witness something its blind belief or hope.

I suppose you are aware of the human trafficking case that is going on in the Wirral or is that something else that doesn't happen here and is just paranoia?

Then there are the numerous child abuse cases in the Wirral, including school staff.

Well cannot speak for binmen or all bus drivers ( the majority of which I am sure are very professional and place children's safety to the front), however we used to get the bus from one care facility that I was in to school and back and of course everyone and his dog knew who we were and that we were from very dodgy backgrounds. They also knew that we were very vulnerable.

I was asked to come to Southend for a weekend by one driver (about 35ish I was 13 I didn't go, never liked Southend ), while many others would give us cigarettes, lend us money, or give us sweets. We very, very precocious and would try it on with any driver. A few would tell us to go away and sit down but the majority did not.

Also a disproportionate number of men would park near the school for no apparent reason other than to 'read the paper' hmm. There was a grass bank near the bus stop on it. Amazing the amount of men adjusting their driver's wing mirror while reading the paper!

One of the problems over the last 20 or 30 years is that a lot decent blokes have become scared to help kids because of all the fears around being labelled paedo or perv. We get to the point where you cant look at a scout leader or football coach without wondering if they are kiddie fiddlers..

Yes that is the sad part of it. School teachers too are scared to comfort a distressed child.