Autistic boy (4) left alone on school bus for hours

John Calvert has described as ‘serious neglect’ the fact that his vulnerable son Ryan was ‘abandoned’ on the private bus hired by the Education Authority.

The upset father described how he had left Ryan, as usual, to the bus close to their home at Portadown’s Dawson Green at 8.15am last Wednesday morning (February 19).

Ryan was supposed to have been taken to Edenderry Primary School’s Learning Support Centre.

But his father later discovered he didn’t arrive until noon that day.

“Myself and my wife Gillian had gone into Lurgan that morning and got a call from the school (at 12 o’clock) to say Ryan had turned up.

“We were left in shock,” Mr Calvert explained.

The 46-year-old father said Ryan can’t really talk so he couldn’t explain what happened.

“I really don’t know how they managed to forget about Ryan on the bus,” Mr Calvert continued.

“Surely even the bus driver would have seen him in his rear view mirror,” added Mr Calvert, who said that there is also supposed to be an escort on the bus with the children.

“It is just terrible that he was sitting there alone for all that time.

“He had a wee bit of Lego in his bag and played with it,” he added.

“The first thing we did was to make sure the child was OK.

“But I have reported it to the police.

“I believe it is neglect. They should have checked the bus.”

He continued: “I am just relieved that Ryan is ok.

“I haven’t slept worrying about what could have happened.

“Was the bus locked? Could Ryan have been taken?

“What if Ryan had got off the bus - he has no road sense. It just doesn’t bear thinking about.”

A spokesperson for the Education Authority commented: “We can confirm we are investigating the circumstances surrounding an incident on a contracted private hire route involving a pupil attending Edenderry Primary School on Wednesday 19 February 2020.

“On becoming aware of this incident, we took immediate action as the safety and well-being of pupils is our primary concern.

“We take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and have offered our unreserved apology to the pupil and their parents.

“As this matter is under investigation no further comment can be made as it may be prejudicial to the process.”

Edenderry School Principal Stephen Doyle commented: “We are very concerned about this child being left on the bus.

“We have asked the Education Authority on behalf of the Board of Governors to investigate the matter.”