01 March 2024 , 18:24
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Parents were horrified after their five-year-old son wandered the streets alone having escaped from his school.
Cheryl Smith and her partner Carlos spotted Jaxon themselves outside Stockingford Academy in Nuneaton. He had managed to slip out of school without anyone noticing. "They didn't know he was missing," Cheryl said angrily. "They should have been keeping him safe."
The school has since apologised for the incident and promised to "improve security protocols". Cheryl explained that her son, who has special educational needs, didn't understand the danger he was in.
"We saw a child come out the gates and we both said 'Where is the parent? ' as the child walked nearer, we realised it was our son and we shouted to him and ran as fast as we could to him," she said.
"He is autistic and has no sense of danger. As soon as we got him we went straight to the school." She claims that when she went to the reception, the staff were unaware he was missing.
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"The teacher was carrying on with duties, no one was looking for him, they hadn't got a clue," she said. To make matters worse, meetings with the school revealed it was the second time he had got out of the classroom that day, the first he remained within the school building.
"We have had meetings with the school and we don't think that they are taking it seriously," she said, adding that she has also contacted the police. "We are appalled with how Stockingford Academy is getting away with this."
She's so upset about the school's supposed lack of action, she's taken Jaxon and another one of her kids out of the school. "The impact it has had on Jaxon has made him have panic attacks and anxiety issues," she told CoventryLive.
She also said that he's now happy at his new school and doing well. But what's made her really angry about Stockingford Academy is that the incident happened just a day after the school was inspected by Ofsted.
The results of that inspection showed the school was 'good', something she doesn't agree with, and she wants the school to tell Ofsted about what happened. "I have lost faith in the system and we have no choice but to remove our children, I just wonder if they (Stockingford Academy) will actually carry out safety checks and make changes," she said. "We are not sleeping, all I do is cry as no one seems to care, my son, was out of the school grounds."
The school is part of the Inspire Education Trust and it said of the incident on January 24: "At approximately 3pm, when the site had been unlocked for adults to collect their pupils, the school became aware that a Year 1 student had left the school site without supervision.
"Immediate action was taken to locate the child and ensure their safety. Within minutes, the pupil was safely returned to the school, with his parents, unharmed. The child had previously left his classroom earlier in the day whilst the site was secure and was returned by a member of staff.
"The safety and well-being of our pupils is our top priority, and we take any incident involving a pupil's unaccompanied departure very seriously. The school has conducted a thorough internal investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
"We have identified areas for improvement in our security protocols and have taken swift action to address them. Senior Trust and school staff have met with the parents on several occasions sharing the completion of the below actions. We understand the concerns that parents, guardians, and the community may have regarding this incident. We assure you that we are committed to continuously enhancing our safety measures to prevent similar incidents in the future."
It said the school has implemented the following measures:
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- Increased supervision during arrival and dismissal times.
- Site security review undertaken and some improvements identified and implemented.
- Review and reinforcement of school policies regarding pupil entry and departure.
- Staff training on identifying and addressing potential security concerns.
The statement continued: "We sincerely apologise for any distress this incident may have caused and appreciate the understanding and cooperation of our school community. We will continue to work collaboratively with parents, staff, and pupils to maintain a secure and nurturing learning environment. This has recently been recognised by OFSTED with the publication of a glowing report which has shown the school to be Good in all areas."