There's a fine balance between causing unnecessary alarm and sharing information so that parents can judge risk.

In a weekly safeguarding update to schools this morning, serious youth violence was highlighted:

• robbery offences are reported to have increased from 14 to 23 over a comparable period
• peak day for offences is on a Tuesday, peak times 4-7pm
• hot-spot areas are close to Northfields, including Ealing Broadway, Southall, West Ealing, Hanwell (and Northolt)
• 7 victims of the 23 reported incidents were children.

Unrelated information sharing between schools later today also highlighted a teacher at another school robbed of a mobile phone by a moped rider, while walking along the Little Ealing Lane area during a lunch break. The other school reported this robbery to local police. 

Parents are encouraged to take steps to reduce own risk and keep safe from street crime, guiding own children accordingly.