This mum is living through a parent's worst nightmare after her child was allegedly physically and sexually assaulted by other students while away at school camp.
She said her child has been too afraid to return to school since.
The government has told the mum there will be an internal after-action review to see if there are opportunities to improve their response to the incident.
Catherine, whose name has been changed to protect the privacy of the children involved, said she was told by another another adult volunteer at the camp, her child had bruises on their legs, arms and torso.
She said she received information sporadically throughout the three-day camp and spoke to both her child and the classroom teacher in attendance.
After picking her child up on Friday afternoon, she took them to the police station to make an official report and then went to the hospital for an examination.
They went back to the police station on Monday for an interview, which took most of the day, and then Catherine met with the school on Tuesday, she said.
The education directorate have told Catherine they will make a safety plan before her child returns to school, but she said she does not accept an outcome where the alleged perpetrators remain at the school.
In the past few weeks Catherine said there had been no contact between her and the school.
"[My child] has now been placed in a position where they feel unable to return, while those involved have faced no visible consequences," she said.
Because the school camp was held in NSW, detectives from the NSW Police child abuse squad started an investigation after receiving a report, a police spokesperson confirmed.
Catherine took her child to Queanbeyan to be interviewed by the NSW Police as part of the investigation, she said.
"Following an extensive investigation by detectives, all current avenues have been exhausted, and police are unable to progress the matter further," the NSW Police spokesperson said.
"Anyone with information or mobile phone footage in relation to this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000."
In an email from the ACT government on April 8, a government spokesperson told Catherine the NSW Police has formally closed the criminal investigation "having found no evidence a criminal offence occurred".
"Based on this outcome, and on the information available, no risks to students have been identified," the government official said.
"There has been no basis for removing any students at any time from [the school] in relation to this matter."
An education directorate spokesperson told The Canberra Times they were not able to comment on individual students or investigations, but were committed to providing a safe environment for all children.
This could include facilitating online learning, establishing school-based support, setting up an Incident Management Team or identifying opportunities for continuous improvement, the spokesperson said.
"ACT public schools do not expel students of below compulsory schooling age. Expelling a student of compulsory education age from accessing public education would be a breach of the Human Rights Act 2004," the spokesperson said.
Catherine said she was concerned another incident would happen at the school and said she could understand why issues like this go underreported after her experience.
At the start of April, the government official said the education directorate's senior clinical practice director would work with the family to put together a safety plan in place, to help Catherine's child feel safe enough to return to school.
"If you would like to explore alternative learning arrangements, we are also open to supporting you and [your child] to consider these options together," the official said.
Catherine said she was concerned about the precedent this would set for other incidents which do not meet a criminal threshold.
"Just because there are no criminal charges doesn't mean that it didn't happen," she said.
"Schools must be environments where early intervention and precautionary measures are taken seriously to prevent further harm. At present, it appears the system has failed to do so," she told the government in an email.
