A HEADTEACHER has been praised after her quick thinking in the aftermath of a shooting outside her school kept children calm and safe.

Jane Powell, headteacher at Woodford Green Primary School in Sunset Avenue, rushed pupils into the school hall after masked gunmen shot at a man moments after he dropped his daughter off at the start of the day.

Mrs Powell, who has been in charge for two-and-a-half years, told children the incident was a police training exercise so as not to alarm them.

Waltham Forest councillor Ebony Vincent had taken her eight-year-old daughter Lucia to the school just a few minutes before the attack happened.

She said: “I greatly thank the head and all the staff. I didn’t know what she was going to tell the children, she must have been scared herself.

“When my daughter came out of school and she wasn’t worried at all. She even felt pleased that they had chosen her school for the training.

“I was a bit worried that the older children might spread rumours about what happened, but it’s quite a small school, and a caring school, so I think the older children look out for the younger ones.”

Although a few pupils were taken home by the parents after the shooting, most stayed for the rest of the day as lessons carried on as usual.

Mrs Powell said: “My first thought was to get (the children) inside and make sure everyone was safe.

“I said there were some bad men outside because they know there are bad men in the world, but that they were gone now and the police were just practising.

“That was just something I thought was probably best for the little ones to hear so they wouldn’t be frightened.

“We have all been supported by the police and the LEA, and the whole community really. The children’s education wasn’t disrupted at all. Everyone dealt with this frightening situation really well.”

Police are hunting two men over the attack, which happened shortly after 9am on Monday, November 22.

They both kept their faces covered and are thought to have fled in a white van.

Nobody was injured in the attack.

- Anyone with information should contact Operation Trident on 020 8217 7355 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.