Child given money by "Vicar" at school

Yes, thats its whole purpose. What do people really expect her to do, the Op probably didn't know about it until after the school closed. Its a holiday weekend the staff probably all left sharpish given end of term and Easter.

I think emailing school isn't a bad idea but contacting Police is way OTT at this stage.

Well yeah, it's best to get the facts right before throwing someone under the bus! The OP needs to dig deeply and investigate and make sure exactly what happened. (It is possible of course that it happened exactly as the child said...)

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I can’t understand why @TakeALookAtTheseSwatches didn’t contact the school immediately.

Sometimes people find Mumsnet a great source of comfort, support, and advice.

Yes, don't report to police @TakeALookAtTheseSwatches but do tell the school. (When the Summer Term starts.)

If this did happen as your DD is saying it did then this is super weird. Giving only your DD money and saying 'it's between you and me' is very disturbing!

Also, plenty of schools didn't break up til Thursday 2nd April, (including schools in my area,) so people need to stop doubting the OP on this!

Also, I am not saying your DD could be lying @TakeALookAtTheseSwatches but you do need to be sure that she's got it right what she has said..

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The fact you posted on this on mumsnet before going to the school is insane. This is a huge safeguarding issue and needs dealing with ASAP!!!

Let's face it, vicars aren't paid much so he's not likely giving £5 to lots of children. For some reason, he's decided to give your dd money and told her to keep it a secret. Both red flags.
Do normal people do this? Not really. Even if he were super rich and very generous (and I refuse to believe this describes a vicar) then he'd have surely given money to more than 1 child not just your dd. And the telling her to keep it a secret just sets off alarm bells.
The only other possible explanation is that your dd got the money somewhere else. But I'd tend to believe her as it's such a bizarre thing to make up.

🤦‍♀️ Menopause brain, sorry. Yes I do mean 101.

OP - I’m a teacher. Safeguarding will be checked daily in the holidays still by their safeguarding team - obviously lots of things can happen in holidays. There is usually a special email for it. Check their website and please email.

I'm not excusing the adult I am 99.99% sure he was at fault. But I am experienced enough to know that 6 year olds occasionally do make things up, I remember doing it myself. I have consistently been saying OP should pursue this with the school AND the church.

I disagree - I think it's a 'kneejerk reaction' for Dioceses to 'cover their backs' and it's the kids that lose out because of it.

Right. Thank you for clarifying with your experience. That wasn't my experience, but I grew up RC.
I suspect that if it was connected, the DC would have said that to her mother. Also the "secret" bit doesn't quite tie in, and rings alarm bells.

Growing up we were given money on Maundy Thursday by family, neighbours and family friends for Easter treats. Easter treats were also given out at school on that day. My own DC also experienced this, although it was mainly from elderly people who had continued the tradition.

Maundy Thursday has nothing to do with this. It's when the Monarch gives money to elderly people in a church.

My first thought was Maundy Thursday.

That is not to discount safeguarding concerns.

Absolutely you should report it and just as importantly tell your DC it is never ok for an adult to tell you to keep secrets from you. If they do so your DC must tell you immediately and that the adult is in the wrong.

Absolutely report immediately. As for school being closed. Yes. BUT safeguarding is always picked up in the holidays. Email the given safeguarding contact (or phone number) and it SHOULD be a monitored contact, even in the depths of holiday. Someone has to be the contact for the alerts on police visits etc. If you don't have a prompt response then contact the safeguarding for the LA.

That's ok, it's a fast moving thread. I hope she's reported to both school and church this morning.

Report today!!

Apologies, I must have missed that bit

Please contact the Diocesan SG officer.thwir emergency and regular contact details will be available on their website. Because it's Easter weekend that will be the fastest way to get this logged. Email school too obviously and if you put Safeguarding in the subject line if anyone is scanning emails over the weekend for urgent things that will be seen.
The local church will have SG contact on their website. So do all three would be my advice.

The headteacher will be checking emails over the holiday, so if you can email them directly you can still report. There will also be information about what to do if you have a safeguarding concern over the holiday on the school website.

I'll probably get lynched on here for saying this but I'm shocked the OP hasn't taught her daughter not to accept money from strangers.
You need to to teach them all that safety stuff before they start school. And keep reminding them. It's no good waiting until something happens.

Better to be safe than sorry though.
Sadly this post proves that society is still in denial about the risks posed by some men to children.

It does seem a bit odd that he wanted it to be kept a secret. How old is he? Because a lot of elderly people seem to do this…or they used too. My lovely grandmother would always sneak money into my hand and imply that it was a secret. She did it up until she dies recently, often sneaking a £20 note into my hand as an adult.

I think you have done the right thing in reporting it even if it was meant out of kindness. Maybe he didn’t want her to say anything to the other children as he didn’t give them any money? But even so, he shouldn’t be singling out one child and it sounds a little creepy.