Winterton school stabbing: Girl held in attempted murder probe Published duration 25 September 2017

image caption Winterton Community Academy has over 500 pupils

A school welfare officer has been seriously injured in a stabbing at a school near Scunthorpe.

The 61-year-old woman was attacked at about 09:00 BST, in an office at Winterton Community Academy.

Humberside Police said a 16-year-old girl had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was being questioned by officers.

The force said the victim was being treated in hospital for "serious but not life-threatening injuries".

Head teacher Gareth Morris told the BBC a small kitchen knife was used in the attack and a year 11 pupil was subsequently restrained by school staff in the "isolated incident", which happened in the victim's office.

media caption Police said the teacher is in hospital with non life-threatening injuries

He said the victim was a "member of staff who's part of our pastoral support team, not a teacher".

Ch Supt Christine Wilson said officers responded to a "fight" in an office at the school, not in a class.

"There was no disruption to any other children, none of whom witnessed the incident," she said.

"Children at the school have not been directly affected by this."

The school has no history of any violent incidents, she added.

image caption Gareth Morris said staff and pupils were being offered support following the incident

Mr Morris told the BBC: "There was a very quick response from my staff who dealt immediately with first aid and restrained the student until we waited for the police and the paramedics to arrive,"

"Although this was... a very serious incident, everybody was safe in school and the school still remains open."

He said it was "very unusual for anything to happen in the area".

"We will support our staff directly affected and will be keeping parents updated throughout the day," Mr Morris said.

Parents were notified in a series of texts sent by the school saying there had been a "serious incident" and, while the school would remain open, they were able to collect their children if they wanted to.

One parent said she received a text message from her child saying students were "locked" in classrooms until after the incident.

image caption Text messages were sent by the school to notify parents of the stabbing

Mr Morris apologised to those "who felt panicked" but said it was important to inform parents their children were safe.

Winterton Community Academy, formerly Winterton Comprehensive School, has 518 pupils aged 11 to 16 years old.