Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Kristy Dawson & Milica Cosic

Fuming dad says daughter, 4, was allowed to leave primary school all by herself

A dad-of-two has been left fuming after his young daughter was allowed to leave her primary school all by herself.

Murtaza Ahsan Kamal, 42, has now slammed Westmoor Primary School in Killingworth, North Tyneside, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, for having "no remorse" after he approached them about the blunder.

The 42-year-old claims that his four-year-old daughter Elayna was supposed to attend an after school club, but was shockingly able to leave the premises by herself on November 18.

The youngster was found roaming outside of the grounds by a concerned woman who luckily happened to be Elayna's childminder, reports Chronicle Live.

Following the incident, the school has gone on to 'strengthen our safeguarding measures' (Newcastle Chronicle)

After finding her roaming around without any supervision, Elayna says the woman took her back to school.

Since the incident, the school has taken "immediate action to strengthen our safeguarding measures," and has gone on to apologise to the family.

However Murtaza, who lives in Palmersville, has been left devastated by the error.

The 42-year-old said: "This is absolutely outrageous. They put my daughter in the maximum position of risk. Anything could have happened. I feel lucky that my daughter came back.

"Luckily the person who found my daughter knew us. I feel thankful that, even though I wasn't there, that woman brought my daughter back."

The dad has slammed the school for their relaxed approach when the confronted them (Newcastle Chronicle)

Murtaza, who works as a commercial lawyer, feels that despite approaching the school about the incident, they are not taking it seriously.

He went on to add that he has contacted North Tyneside Council and the social services department about what happened.

He said: "Nothing has been done, absolutely nothing. I went and asked the head teacher 'Can you tell me about it?' She cheerfully touched my shoulder and said 'Don't worry.' She had no remorse, no apology.

"I don't even feel one single person is actually ready to identify the problem and accept that this has been an extremely serious mistake. There was no alarm and no alert that that child was missing.

"My daughter, who was four-and-a-half years old, was left unsupervised - she was gone."

The dad, who works as a commercial lawyer, contacted the social services department about what happened (Newcastle Chronicle)

Murtaza said the school had no idea who the childminder was who brought his daughter back. He said his wife was informed about the incident by a staff member at the school.

He said: "They told my wife that Elayna was missing, she'd left the school and then she was brought back so she's safe. I was angry, upset and frustrated, this is something which I have never felt in my life."

Murtaza said his daughter was questioned about the incident by a teacher and now does not want to return to the school.

He added: "My four-year-old was asked why did she do it. She was told off by the teacher. She doesn't want to go back to school. I have got to give her reassurance that I'm not going to let anything happen."

Westmoor Primary School said they have carried out an investigation into the incident and are taking it "extremely seriously".

Murtaza says he was 'angry, upset and frustrated' when he found out about the incident (Newcastle Chronicle)

Sharon Trundley, head teacher at Westmoor Primary School, said: "Safeguarding is a priority for us, and we have policies and procedures in place to ensure our pupils safety.

"We have conducted a thorough investigation into an incident at our out of school club and have taken immediate action to strengthen our safeguarding measures to ensure this does not happen again. These measures include reviewing and amending our existing processes for safe and effective passage of children to and from out of school club.

"We have taken this incident extremely seriously. We have apologised to the pupils’ parents, and provided reassurance that both our school, and the out of school club service, are a place where children are safe, supported and protected."

Julie Firth, director of children’s services at North Tyneside Council, added: "Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children and young people is always a school’s main concern. We have provided advice to the school, and we are satisfied with the action they have taken and the measures they have put in place."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.