A man spotted in the toilets of a primary school may have been the parent of a pupil, it has emerged.

But bosses at Reculver admit they have failed to establish who the man was or what he was doing there.

The police were called to the school in Reculver Lane yesterday morning after the man entered the building shortly before 9am.

A pupil alerted staff after finding him in one of the children’s toilets.

Officers arrived at the school and searched the site, but were unable to find the man.

The school’s acting head teacher Jenny Ashley-Jones said: “Keeping the children of Reculver primary school safe is our primary concern and as soon as we became aware of a potential incident we dealt with it immediately.

“An adult, who we believe may have been a parent, used one of the children’s toilets before school started.

“Having investigated this thoroughly, we are fairly certain that this was not an incident with any sort of malicious intent.

"Having investigated this thoroughly, we are fairly certain that this was not an incident with any sort of malicious intent..." - acting head Jenny Ashley-Jones

“We did however contact the police to make them aware of the incident and we have spoken to all of the children to remind them of the ‘stranger danger’ rules.

“We followed the correct procedures and informed the police and the local authority in order to safeguard the children.”

The school has now reviewed its security arrangements and asked all parents to drop their children off at the main gate – preventing adults from entering the school grounds.

Mrs Ashley-Jones said: “We are a very large site with a great many entrance points. Implementing this change will bring us in line with the practice of many other schools.

“If your child attends the nursery, we would then ask you to access the nursery via their dedicated entrance, on the church side of the school, not the school playground.

“Senior staff will be on duty in the morning to oversee the implementation of these new procedures.

“Could I please remind all parents that you must not, under any circumstance, ever enter the school building alongside your child.

“If you need to see or speak to a member of the teaching staff, please approach the office staff who will help you with your enquiry or make an appointment for you with the relevant member of staff. “This is to safeguard all children within our care.”

It follows reports this week that a pupil at Herne Bay Junior School was approached by a driver of a white van while walking to school.

Schools and parents issued an alert to parents to remain vigilant, and taught lessons in assemblies to children about what to do in cases of stranger danger.

Earlier this month a boy was approached by a car driver while walking in Greenhill to Herne Bay High School.