A five-year-old Perthshire pupil left his school’s playground and walked a mile home on his own before teachers noticed he had gone, according to his dad.
Horrified Shawn Hodge, 41, believes his son Jack went through a gap between a hedge and fence at the playground of Breadalbane Academy Primary School in Aberfeldy.
Jack was reportedly walking on his own for up to 45 minutes as he made his way home.
Perth and Kinross Council has vowed to investigate the incident, which it is treating “extremely seriously”.
Jack, 5, walked a mile through Aberfeldy after getting out of playground
Shawn, 41, says Jack Hodge, who is in primary 1 at the school in Aberfeldy, left the school playground through a gap between a hedge and a fence.
He then walked a mile along a main road and through the Birks of Aberfeldy.
When he arrived home he was greeted by his shocked mum, Nicole Mills.
Shawn said: “It was only when his shocked mum contacted me after Jack wandered into the house and I called the school that teachers realised he was missing.
“When I was on the phone to the school they said they had just discovered he was gone.”
Shawn says the incident happened at lunchtime on Thursday last week.
‘Anything could have happened to our son’ after Breadalbane Academy escape
He said: “We’re horrified this was allowed to happen – anything could have happened to our son, I dread to think.
“He walked up the road to The Birks and then through the area there before arriving home.
“Thank goodness his mum was in when he got there.
“She contacted me and I called the school.
“I can’t believe they had only just realised he wasn’t there.
“He must have been gone half an hour to 45 minutes before they noticed he was missing.”
Shawn added: “I want an explanation from the school how this was allowed to happen and to ensure it will never happen again.
“And I want to warn other parents to be on their guard.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm a pupil left Breadalbane Primary School and walked to a parent’s house.
“The safety and wellbeing of the children in our care is always our priority and we take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and are reviewing the incident to see how any repeat can be avoided in the future.
“We are also in discussion with the child’s parents regarding this incident and will keep them informed of steps we are taking to prevent this happening again.”
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