Dear Parents and Carers,

Schools across Bristol have been asked to share the following statement as a unified communication from the local authority following the recent tragic and disturbing incidents in several areas of the city.

As parents of nursery-age children, many of you will also have older children and/or be aware of communications in your line of work. I hope you appreciate the need to share this message, and of course, as a school community, we send our heartfelt condolences to those involved and affected. We are all saddened and shocked by these events. Please take care of yourselves and your families.

Thank you,

Sarah and all the team at FANS

Sadly, we find ourselves once again mourning the loss of a young life, following the tragic events of Wednesday 14th February and our thoughts and sympathies are with Darrian Williams’ bereaved family and friends. Our city community is also now processing the loss of life of three young children in the west of the city.

This is an incredibly challenging time for our city, and we know that you will have concerns, especially with it coming so soon after the terrible events in Knowle West. Now, more than ever, is the time for us to come together to support each other and our children and to do so from a place of respect, positivity, and hope. 

As part of this effort, please continue to check on your child’s social media activity. There are unhelpful social media posts going round, which are sharing misinformation or rumours. Our children are not the cause of this, but it is really important that they do not share, like or comment on such posts. We also strongly recommend that they leave any groups where such posts are being shared.

Local agencies continue to work closely with all educational settings to ensure young people remain safe across our city and we will continue to pass on any relevant advice and information for parents/carers as and when it is made available to us.