Should have children been told of this incident by the school?

[Cashewsandhummus]

DC quite upset tonight. There was a serious incident at their school and the teacher told them about it. Y3. Nothing that we ever discussed in details, just that there are bad people.
I'd filter particularly gruesome and upsetting news so it's the first time DC heard about something like this.
Was the school right to notify the children before the parents? Should it be up to us to decide how and what we tell the children?
Now I have a sobbing child which never happened before.

Did the teacher announce it to the class who were all totally unaware, or did they respond to another child asking a question?

Difficult to judge without knowing the circumstances.

Better that they heard about it from teachers than other kids on the playground. I assume it was dealt with sensitively and carefully.

It’s hard to comment without knowing what it was.

Better the teacher tell them than they hear it in the grapevine with random embellishments.

Impossible to say without more details

If the kids were going to find out anyway it's better they were told by an adult

It is possibly better that the school told them rather than them hearing rumours that would probably be worse.

An older child followed a younger child to the loo and asked them to show their privates.

I'd rather be talking about this to my child.
It was announced with no questions coming from children.

Best that all the children have the same basic information from the school, surely. They’re going to talk to each other about whatever this is - if some children had different information than others from their parents then the children will be trading different stories in the playground. Best they all know the same info.

I guess the teacher may have been telling them in a "This is not ok" kind of way. And perhaps suggesting that if something like that happened to them then to tell someone or say no. Might not have been done in a careless way

I actually think that is a perfectly reasonable thing for the teacher to talk to a class about given the circumstances. Has your school not done the whole private’s are private thing?

Why would that information ave made your child come home sobbing unless they were the child involved ?

What has upset your child so much?

I'd imagine it was raised in a simple way like the PANTS advice, with a stern reminder that we don't mess about in the toilets.

What did they teacher say that has resulted in a sobbing child?

nicknack What do you think.

right, so sexual abuse it not something to be upset about.

It’s a perfectly reasonable and extremely important thing to talk to children about. It will have been from a ,your privates are private and no one should be asking to see them’ point of view.
It’s important that children know that this applies to adults and other children.

My Dc is upset because someone bigger hurt a small child

I don’t know that’s why I’m asking. I very much doubt that the teacher went into graphic details about it.

Your child must know there are bad people in the world?

I think its vital that this is discussed with all of the children, to ensure that any other children who may have been/are subject to a similar experience can be encouraged to come forward and seek support, and to emphasise to potential perpetrators how completely unacceptable this is.
Do you know why your son is so upset by this? Sobbing seems a slightly surprising reaction, if your child wasn't involved in the incident.

It's not sexual abuse, and there's no way the school would have spoken to the children using such terms.

Do you really think the teacher went into graphic detail or mentioned the words sexual abuse?