Headteacher tells mother that the school’s failure to seek emergency treatment for her son was ‘a judgement call’
Gruesome: the boy was left waiting for two hours, as school staff failed to call for an ambulance
A mother was distraught and angry when she arrived at her son’s Croydon school one morning this week to discover the boy had been left sitting in a corridor for two hours, alone and unattended, with a wooden knife stuck in his head.
The boy had been violently attacked by another pupil, a matter that is now subject to a police investigation.
But no one at the school had called for an ambulance to send the injured child to receive urgent treatment for his head wound.
The shocking incident occurred at Archbishop Lanfranc secondary before school on Monday. The school, on Mitcham Road in Thornton Heath, is just a short distance from Mayday Hospital.
The boy, who cannot be identified as he is only 13 years old, is said to be recovering from his physical injuries well, with no sign of any lasting damage to his skull or ear canal. But he is otherwise still shocked by the way he had been treated by his schoolmates, and also by the school’s staff.
The boy’s mother described the events as a “deeply concerning incident”.
Weapon: the boy was reportedly stabbed repeatedly with the canteen knife
The mother has filed formal complaints with the school trust’s governors, with Ofsted and her MP.
“I have serious concerns regarding the school’s response to this medical emergency and what I believe were significant safeguarding failures,” the mother told Inside Croydon.
According to the school, the incident began outside the school at around 7.36am (the school staff had checked on their CCTV), with some confrontation between two boys. The school says that the boy who was knifed “made contact with another student’s face”.
In an email sent to the mother by Simon Trehearn, Lanfranc’s headteacher, “The other student had a wooden knife and stabbed [the boy’s name] in the head with it (not seen on CCTV but all statements suggest this).
“When the school gates open (at 7.50am) the students come in to visitor reception and report the incident.”
The injured boy, according to Trehearn in his email to the mother, “was given first aid and a colleague called you”.
According to the boy’s mother, “My son was backed into a corner and repeatedly stabbed in the head with a wooden canteen knife until the knife became lodged in his head.
“After the incident, members of staff assessed his injuries but made the decision to not call an ambulance. I was informed that the school could not call an ambulance and that I should attend the school and take my son to hospital in an Uber.
“When I arrived, I found my son sitting in the reception area with the knife still embedded in his head. He remained there while pupils and parents continued arriving at school. No member of staff was sitting beside him to provide reassurance or emotional support during what must have been one of the most traumatic moments of his life.”
It was left to the mother to call 999.
“I am deeply concerned that the decision to not immediately request medical assistance resulted in a significant delay before emergency services attended my son. From the time he was stabbed until emergency services arrived after I called 999, approximately two hours had elapsed.”
According to the mother, the school was initially unable to contact her. “I do not live locally to the school, and this all occurred during the morning rush hour.
“If I had remained uncontactable, what would have happened to my son?
High principals: Archbishop Lanfranc was rebuilt 10 years ago at a cost of £29m
“Would he have continued waiting in reception with a knife embedded in his head?”
The Archbishop Lanfranc single-school academy has 850 pupils in Years 7 to 11 and a nursery for 30 pre-school children. The school was rebuilt at a cost of £29million and reopened in September 2017.
According to its own website, the school has no fewer than eight members of staff who have the word “principal” in their job title. But apparently there’s no one at the school capable of dialling 999 when a child has been seriously hurt.
In an email to the boy’s mother, Trehearn wrote, “Members of staff assessed the injury and it was a judgement call not to call for an ambulance, but to wait for you to arrive.
“We are investigating why the member(s) of staff made that decision – it may well be that was the wrong decision, and that their judgement was wrong. If we find that members of staff made an error, then that will be managed in-line with our policies for managing staff.”
The mother has told Inside Croydon today that she has never received anything resembling an apology for the way her son was neglected and the failure to call for an ambulance. But she said she did receive at least five phone calls from the school, and another email from Trehearn, shortly after Lanfranc had been approached for comment by Inside Croydon.
No apology: Lanfranc head Simon Trehearn
This, she said, seemed to represent the school trying to cover-up the incident. “It felt like they were trying to pressure me to withdraw my complaint or not speak to the press.”
By the time of publication of this article, no one from Archbishop Lanfranc Academy had responded to our request for comment.
“I remain deeply concerned that a child with a penetrating head injury was not immediately treated as a medical emergency,” the mother said.
“This incident has completely destroyed my confidence in the school’s ability to safeguard my son.”
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Has the school met its legal obligation to file a report under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations?
All chiefs and no Indians. Could easily have despatched a member of staff with the lad to the hospital. Year 11 have gone so there is plenty of flex in the system. Teachers are loco parentis. Did they hope he would walk out?