A mum has defended her nine-year-old son saying he only brought a knife to school because he was at "breaking point after being bullied every day".
The boy was excluded from St Paul's C of E Primary School, in Goms Mill, for three days following the incident on Tuesday, March 19.
He showed the vegetable knife to his classmates before handing it in to his teachers.
But now other parents are calling for the schoolboy to be permanently expelled, reports StokeonTrentLive.
His mum, from Trentham Lakes, claims the schoolboy has been bullied every day for the past two years and brought the knife in to scare his tormentor.
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The mum-of-five said: "He was excluded for three days and when I got him home I asked him what he was thinking and he just collapsed on the floor in tears and said he couldn't take anymore as he's been bullied every day for two years.
"He said he just wanted to scare him so he'd stop and leave him alone, it absolutely broke my heart.
"I'm not trying to play down what happened and he's not going to get away with it. He's been punished and had all his privileges taken away from him.
"I've even been in touch with police and a PCSO came round to speak to him about the seriousness of this and explained what would happen to him if he went down this path.
"They told him that if he had it on the playground a child could have easily run into it, even if he didn't want to hurt anyone.
"He realised at school that he shouldn't have had the knife which is why he handed it in. He just felt so desperate that he didn't know what else to do. That must be a horrible place to think that's your last resort.
"He may have mild Asperger's and we've been in a number of times speaking to teachers over the last couple of years about bullying. I wish the school would take more responsibility for what's happened.
"My son's not an angel but he's never been in trouble with the school. We've never had any issues until recently and he's never been in detention.
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"Having spoken to the school myself they have identified that maybe things were missed from their perspective.
"If the teachers had been aware, as there were a number of issues that had been reported, then maybe something could have been done earlier."
The upset mum says she understands the reaction from other parents as knives are "scary".
She added: "I can't say that if it wasn't my son that I wouldn't be saying the same things. I understand where people are coming from.
"It was a stupid thing to do and he understands that. He showed it to his friends and said 'maybe he'll leave me alone because I brought this in'.
"That morning he'd obviously just had enough. We've always told him to walk away and go and tell a teacher if he has a problem, but he says the teachers weren't listening.
"I feel if other parents are aware of the circumstances then maybe they will be a little more understanding."
The schoolboy was excluded for three days but has yet to return.
His mother added: "I'm in talks with the school over how to integrate him back in as soon as possible. But it's not just about him, it's about the other children.
"I honestly believe this is an isolated incident and he absolutely won't do it again. He wants to go back to school because he's missing his friends.
"My son wasn't in school on the day they had the talk from police about knife crime and maybe if he had been there he would have realised beforehand.
"He's very remorseful and he cried when he realised what he had done. It's shaken him up."
Headteacher Nicola Finney said: "I feel it is not appropriate to discuss individual cases.
"The school takes all incidents of pupil behaviour extremely seriously. The welfare of our school’s children is our utmost priority."
