Halifax boy who should have been in after-school club put on a bus

The six-year-old boy, who is in Year 2 at Abbey Park Primary Academy in Illingworth, was booked into an after-school club until 4pm on Monday.

His mum was on her way to pick him up at around 3.45pm when she says she received a call from school saying he was not there – he had been put on a bus.

"The first thing I was thinking was ‘where is my child?’" said the mum.

"He is going to get to his stop and, when he sees I'm not there, he'll be panicking."

The boy often gets a school bus to and from school, with his mum putting him on the service and ensuring she is there to meet him at the stop near their home at the end of the school day.

But she says he knew he was going to after-school club that day and she had received verbal and written confirmation he was booked in.

She says her son went to the club when his lessons finished only to be told he should be on a bus.

His mum, who is a university student, said: “He was shaken. He burst into tears when we got home.

"He said 'I'm so glad you're here, Mum'. He was really overwhelmed."

"They should have double checked.”

She also says he has been "hysterical" at thought of getting back on a school bus following the incident.

She understood older children at the primary school were allowed to leave the bus without a parent or carer to meet them when they get off, leading her to be concerned that if this incident had involved one of them, they may have found themselves going home to an empty, locked-up home for several hours.

And nearly three days later, she says she has still not had an explanation from the school about what happened to her son.

She has complained to Ofsted and is considering moving him to a different school.

A spokesperson for Northern Education Trust, which Abbey Park Primary Academy is part of, said the school participates in a bus service which enables parents to book the service for their child, to transport them to and from school.

"There are stringent safeguarding measures in place to ensure that no child (of any age) is allowed off the bus unless there is a known adult waiting for them at the bus stop,” said the spokesperson.

"The driver contacts the academy in such instances, and a member of staff will collect the child and return them to school, when the parent will then be contacted.

"This ensures that the child is supervised and safeguarded at all times.”

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