Boy With Down's Syndrome Left Alone On School Bus For Six Hours

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-bristol-42832690?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=5a737282655519064b8e5d21%26Boy%20with%20Down%27s%20Syndrome%20left%20alone%20on%20school%20bus%20for%20six%20hours%26&ns_fee=0#post_5a737282655519064b8e5d21

Another vulnerable child left on a school bus ! What was the driver thinking about ?

[Hazi-Hammenuhoth]

Very sad neglect of duty. It seems the driver was thinking about anything but what he was paid to do!

[horselady]

Was on our local news yesterday. Poor little kid, couldn't speak and couldn't undo his seat belt so was completely helpless all that time bless him.

[jno]

mikey - just fyi - when you search for a story, the URL will often have a question mark in the middle of it; the rest of the URL after that will just be your own search terms. So you can remove the question mark and everything after it, to make it shorter

Like so

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-bristol-42832690

[andy-hughes]

Poor little soul.

No doubt 'lessons will be learned'.

[pixie374]

That's awful. It's strange that it could even happen- usually the schools ring parents by 10 if someone doesn't turn up and there hasn't been a phone call. How did they not notice either?

[mikey4444]

Thanks jno....didn't realise that !

This poor little lad....he must have been terrified.

I hope someone is kicking that drivers behind all the way down the road.

[jno]

I don't think there are lessons to be learnt, andy; someone just didn't do his job, and by right should soon be looking for alternative employment. I doubt this is a case of systemic failure.

[mikey4444]

jno....there should be a better process in place, so that one simple mistake by a driver. doesn't result in this kind of thing again....it hardly the first time is it ?

[jno]

I don't see the point of double staffing every job just so each person can check on the other. Checking a vehicle is empty before you leave it ought to be the most basic procedure for any bus driver; dubly so when you're carryind kids and even more if any or them are handicapped. It was his responsibility, not that of the system.

[cassa333]

For goodness sake a mini bus is not that big. I should think even a cursory look would have spotted him.

Even so does someone not have to clean the bus after use?

Poor little blighter. After than length of time I would have been bored, hungry and needing the loo.

[1ozzy]

I owned and operated a school bus service for sixteen years.

Morning and evening it was standard practice to walk down the aisle to check for strays, lost property, damage, cleanliness etc.

[Buenchico]

Something's clearly wrong but, having had the responsibility of looking after kids myself (during my teaching years) I know just how easy it is to make one silly mistake.

For example, I organised a 10 day football tour to Germany. We counted the kids on to the coach at the school gates and counted them off at the motorway services. Then we counted them on again before counting them off at the ferry terminal and then counting them onto the ferry. For 10 days we counted those kids on and off the coach in France, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg, at sports grounds, hotels, fairgrounds and just about everywhere else. Then we counted them on and off the ferry and back onto the coach before setting out back to Sheffield. Our final stop was at Leicester Forest East services where, for the one and only time in 10 days, we forgot to count the kids back onto the coach. We were halfway down the slip-road onto the M1 before anyone noticed that there was a kid missing! It's easily done!

[Mamyalynne]

There were 3 checks supposedly in place, all failed somehow.

//"A carer on the bus is supposed to check everyone is off, a teacher is supposed to tick everyone off on the register, and the driver is supposed to check there is no one on the bus too. The last thing I expected was that all of these checks hadn’t been done and Reuben had been left on the bus."//


https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/local-news/young-boy-downs-syndrome-left-1146244


Poor lad.

[cassa333]

On only a slightly related note.

There is a bloke over the road from me that does the school run (he has the mini bus parked outside my house but that's another annoying thread lol). He ferrys disabled kids about but to see him you have to wonder how he could do anything in an emergency.

He can barely walk without a stick and huffs and puffs the crossing the road to his houseand has to stop for a breather at the gate.