TOP STORY: Bus drops child 10km from home

By CARLY UDY
A five-year-old boy was left stranded on the side of the road 10km from home after his Western Bay school failed to ensure he boarded the right bus.
His parents have since contacted police to discuss whether criminal charges can be laid against the school over the incident, which they say was "traumatising" and "unacceptable".
Oropi School's Year 1 pupil Matt Holmes was allowed to board the first bus run on Wednesday afternoon when he was supposed to get on the second one.
The school today admitted responsibility and said it was "distressed" at what the youngster had to endure.
Matt travelled on the bus along Oropi Rd and was allowed to get off at Waimapu Service Station - 10km from home. He then tried to walk home. A member of the public saw him and called police.
Matt was found 1.5km from Waimapu Service Station by the officer, who took him home to his distraught caregiver.
Matt's mother, Tracey Holmes, contacted her husband, Trent, who left a meeting to travel his one-hour journey home.
"He [Matt] was very quiet and was reluctant to talk. This is unusual behaviour as normally he would have shown excitement about having a ride in a police car.
"Considering other events that have happened in the Bay of Plenty area over the past year or two of attempted abductions of children as they were walking to school it was possible that this may have occurred," she said.
Mr and Mrs Holmes contacted Oropi School, the Education Ministry and Bay of Plenty MP Tony Ryall to express their concern and get some answers.
They say all were "horrified" at what had been allowed to happen. Police told the family they would talk to the school but were unable to lay charges.
The ministry advised that the governance of the school was the responsibility of the board of trustees. It would contact them.
Mrs Holmes said a meeting involving her, her husband, Oropi School principal Sherie Collins, the deputy principal and bus controller Robert Lewis and chairman of the board of trustees, Kelvin Trask - did little to ease their concerns.
"We wanted to know what the school's policies and procedures were in regard to children travelling on the bus, to which we were told they did not have any," Mrs Holmes said.
"I said they should have implemented a system where children's names were checked off as they boarded the bus ...
"As far as I was concerned it was ineffectual management," she told the Bay of Plenty Times.
"We want to alert other parents in the Bay of Plenty area to what has happened. This would then enable them to ask their school what policies and procedures they have in place for children travelling on buses."
The Holmes family requested a newsletter be sent out to Oropi School parents advising them of what had happened but were "appalled" that the events were not clearly portrayed.
"Any parent who read it would naturally assume our son had gone on the wrong bus and ended up back at school as there was no mention of the fact he'd been dropped off the bus 10km from his home then tried to walk home, crossing the road frequently," she said.
The family say given Matt's age he may need counselling due to the event - something the school did not offer.
Mr Trask said today the school accepted responsibility.
Procedures had been tightened and while Oropi had had "informal" systems in place regarding children being collected from school - not written systems - that had changed and students were being more closely monitored.
Checks with other schools in the area showed their policies and procedures were similar to Oropi's, he said.
"We are distressed and concerned and regret it occurred," he said.