AS concerned parents and carers at Hampstead School where the riot police were called on our children on Friday November 24, we are calling for an open meeting in the school with pupils, teachers and parents, to discuss what happened. Individual meetings

AS concerned parents and carers at Hampstead School where the riot police were called on our children on Friday November 24, we are calling for an open meeting in the school with pupils, teachers and parents, to discuss what happened.

Individual meetings, which have taken place in work time at very short notice, are not sufficient.

There have been many inaccurate reports regarding the incident. To state that relations between pupils and the police are being rebuilt (Secondary and police try to patch up relations, H&H December 7), when we have not fully heard what the children who were hurt and racially abused by police, and the parents and teachers who witnessed it have to say, what statements have been submitted, what the complaint from the school says and how it will be pursued, is an attempt to brush the incident under the carpet. We will not allow it.

We have already protested that the headmaster went with a police officer to children's classes asking for statements and that no meeting with parents and carers was called immediately after the event.

In order to ensure our children are safe, the school must be responsible for them independently of the police. After the police were called it seems the school did nothing to protect the children when the police assaulted them. We understand that those individual teachers who tried to intervene were themselves threatened with arrest.

Insp Peplow is quoted as saying that the resident PC at Hampstead was not involved in the incident, yet a number of pupils say they saw him.

We demand to be centrally involved and consulted about any issue of safety regarding our children and any incident in which the police are called.

We want to see justice done to help prevent any future police assault on our children or on anyone connected to the school.

If your child was caught up in this frightening incident and you would like to discuss any worrying aspects of it with parents, pupils and teachers, please email us at hampsteadschoolparents@yahoo.co.uk

K Chapman, K Cummins

R Cummins, T Madden,

A Neal V Papantoniou

hampstead School parents