Five-year-old walks out of primary school on his own (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Five-year-old walks out of primary school on his own

A WORRIED mother has reacted furiously after discovering her five-year-old son ran away from school without his teachers knowing.

Plucky Jordan Milliner walked out of Cirencester Infant School, in Victoria Road, last Friday morning after asking to use the toilet.

But before teachers even noticed he had wondered off, Jordan was spotted on his own outside Winstone News in Watermoor Road, some 15 minutes later.

To make matters worse, the boy's mother says the school failed to notify her the incident took place at all, despite their attempts to get hold of her.

Kim Milliner, who recently gave birth to her second son, said: "My mother-in-law went to pick him up that day because my husband and I were still in hospital.

"They told her Jordan had got very upset and wanted to see his daddy. But later he was telling me the story, about the man from the shop and the police.

"I feel like I've had to be a detective. I wasn't told about what happened, my son told me - it was awful and I was quite distraught.

"Never once did the school pinpoint that he had been out for a long time."

Jordan's classroom block does not have its own washroom facilities, so the children are given a special key card when they need the toilet.

Kim said: "Jordan was found by a shopkeeper, who called the police before the school had even noticed he'd gone.

"We live on London Road and he knows the way by car, so he'd obviously decided to find his way home. There's a gate at the school, but why wasn't it locked?

"I think their security system needs some progress. Other schools in the area should know about the incident as well so they can also review their security."

As a result of the incident, pupils have been reminded of the procedures when leaving the classroom to use the toilets.

The entrance gate will also now be closed between 9.30am and 3pm, with access only maintained for visitors and deliveries.

Headteacher Vanessa Jenns said: "When Jordan could not be located, the police were immediately informed. In the meantime, he was found in a nearby shop and collected by a member of staff. His family was informed and a family member came to collect him shortly afterwards.

"I've since met the parents and given a full explanation of the circumstances, while the school is also reviewing procedures in order to determine whether any further appropriate measures can be introduced."

Gloucestershire police have also outlined their role in the incident.

Chief Inspector David Peake said: "It's certainly a police matter when a vulnerable child, or anybody for that matter, goes missing.

"We had one call from the shopkeeper who found the boy at 11.25am and another call from the school at 11.33am, which we quickly linked together.

"These things do happen, but the police and the public worked together with the school and were able to resolve the situation very well indeed."