MORE Kent schools have complained that police have responded too slowly to calls for assistance, it has emerged.

Kent Police was forced to apologise last month after teachers at a Canterbury primary school were left to deal with a violent intruder despite making emergency calls for help.

Now county education chiefs have revealed that since that incident at St Stephen’s Junior School, a number of other schools have come forward to express concern over how long it has taken for the police to respond to their calls in the past.

But KCC refused to disclose where or how serious the incidents were, saying it did not want to start a witchhunt.

The revelation came during a council meeting when the politician in charge of education was asked if he was satisfied by new measures brought in by the police after the incident.

Meanwhile, Kent Police says since those measures were brought in on October 6, it has already received and responded to 22 incidents at schools that met the criteria of posing a serious or immediate threat to pupils, staff, parents or visitors.

These included two reports of people carrying or using air weapons on school premises in school hours, four assaults on staff or students, seven violent disturbances, including a complaint of parents fighting at a school sports event, and one report of indecent exposure.

The police have also dealt with 25 less serious incidents.

Cllr John Simmonds (Con), KCC cabinet member for education, said that while he was confident Kent Police now had “robust protocols” in place to deal with school intruders “a number of previous incidents where police response has not been as swift as had been expected, have been reported.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Geoff Rowe, a member of Kent Police Authority, who asked the question, said he was aware of complaints from some schools even before the incident at St Stephen’s School.

Staff made a number of calls in 50 minutes after an aggressive man armed with a piece of wood got into the school and threatened to kill them. No officers ever arrived.

Chief Constable Mike Fuller subsequently personally apologised to the school.

In a statement, Dr Ian Craig, KCC director of children’s operations, said: “We have passed these [reports] on to the police with the view that we should not do retrospective witch-hunts but move forward and work with the police on the new protocol.”

Deputy Chief Constable Jim Barker McCardle said: "Kent Police works closely with schools and the two local education authorities to address any concerns that arise.

"We work increasingly closely together on a range of issues affecting the safety of pupils and the wider public and we are, of course, keen to hear ideas and concerns about any element of our service. We have agreed that we will keep the protocol under review.”