No formal action will be taken against Achieving for Children staff members that sparked a huge abduction scare against its own staff.

An internal investigation was launched in March when staff members were mistakenly reported to police for trying to conduct a survey of children from a van outside Richard Challoner School and the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in New Malden.

The non-profit company blamed a “communications lapse” that saw schoolchildren lured into a van to answer questions about what they did in their leisure time.

The gaffe drew heavy criticism from Richard Challoner’s deputy headteacher Sean Binns. At the time he said that the exercise went “against all the safeguarding and child protection protocols and advice they would have been given”.

Councillor Andrea Craig, who has responsibility for education and skills, said: “Achieving for Children has concluded its investigation into the communications lapse that resulted in this incident.

“They found that no formal action needed to be taken against any staff.

“However, new communications processes have been put in place to ensure, as far as possible, there is no repetition.”