WHEN families send their kids to school they expect them to be safe but time and again horror stories emerge which strike fear into parents everywhere.

Now in Bradford on Avon allegations have been made that pupils were sexually abused at the Old Ride School in the 1970s and 1980s.

The subsequent investigation by Wiltshire police has led to one man being arrested and charged with 32 offences. Whether these allegations are upheld, or whether the man is innocent, remains to be seen.

It can take many years for the victims of sexual abuse to come to terms with what has happened and to bring themselves to the point where they come forward and so often the passage of time can affect evidence.

Parents and families are right to expect their children to be safe when they are at school, but with recent events in Soham and the outcry over problems with teacher vetting at the start of this academic year, many parents will be worried.

But they can take some comfort in the knowledge that the number of teachers accused of such crimes is just a drop in the ocean.