Howick College school bus broken window sparks complaint to Ministry of Education

A mum of a college student has laid a complaint with the Education Ministry after her child was hit by glass as a broken school bus window disintegrated on students.

She says parents are “disgusted” by the school’s handling of the situation accusing staff of telling students to get on the already-damaged bus, a claim principal Dale Burden denies.

Teenage children were left with cuts from shards of flying glass and traumatised after a caved in window started shedding glass into the bus carrying about 40 students last Tuesday.

The bus company, which ferries students to and from East Auckland’s Howick College, apologised last week for the incident in which parents said children suffered cuts from the smashed glass.

One mother, who first heard of the incident from her child who was on the bus and sent her videos, said the school’s behaviour was disgusting.

“I mean, they’re at fault as well and the bus monitor loaded these children up, and accused them of damaging the bus and had a real good go at them, which I don’t agree with and, I mean, you could see that the bus was clearly damaged.”

She told the Herald while the bus company admitted it was damaged before it arrived at the school, she said the school has not taken responsibility and they should have been stopped from boarding.

“I think they [the school], they’re partly responsible for this as well.

“There are a lot of parents that are absolutely disgusted.”

The mother said she has had several phone calls with the principal about the situation.

“I believe that the school should take responsibility and, do some disciplinary action because the staff member that’s also a bus monitor as a teacher.”

She told the Herald she and others have filed complaints to the Ministry of Education, and other parents have complained to police.

Ministry of Education school transport group manager James Meffan said they became aware of this incident after two caregivers contacted the Ministry.

“On investigation we discovered that this bus service is not a Ministry-contracted service. Any queries will need to be directed to Howick College.”

Howick College students were left with cuts after being forced on to a bus with a smashed window.

The school employs private bus contractor Brougham Buses for students living in semi-rural areas some distance away.

Burden told the Herald he had not spoken with any parent about this matter.

“The MOE have not raised any concerns with the way that the school handled the situation which is not in the manner described by this parent who was not present on the day. No other parents have raised any concerns with me about how the matter was handled by the school.

“If your parent source, that has obviously already contacted you and the MOE, would like to contact me I would be happy to discuss their opinions with them.”

Earlier he rejected claims from parents that students were made to get on the bus.

“Students were not made to sit on a bus by anyone,” he said.

“We enjoy a positive relationship with the bus company and know them to be a company that values the health and safety of our students.”

Burden said the school had spoken to Brougham Buses and understood it would be investigating the matter.

“The college has communicated with the relevant families, thanking them for drawing this incident to our attention and reassuring them that the incident is subject to review by the company.”

According to student accounts, the bus arrived on Tuesday afternoon to collect about 40 students with the window already caved in.

The driver allegedly told a school staff member that students had smashed the window in, which led to the staff member lecturing students on their behaviour.

Parents believed the window damage was far too substantial to have been caused by a teenager and claimed students were sent on their way with the smashed window beginning to break apart.

According to students on the bus, people initially sat right next to the window but quickly moved away when shards of glass began flying.

At one stage, a large chunk flew in the direction of students.

“They said to the driver to slow down as he was driving fast, and the faster he drove the more that broke off, but he just ignored them,” the mother said.

Several children were cut by flying glass.

Another mother, whose “normally cruisy” child received multiple minor cuts on his arms and legs, said her son was taken aback by the experience.

The bus had been travelling on rural roads, at times reaching high speeds, as glass hit her son.

“It’s a traumatic experience,” she said.

“They’re little nicks – but I was just horrified, to be honest. It’s just unacceptable.”

Another mother collected her daughter with her legs covered in “pinholes” from the glass, while the friend she was sitting next to was bleeding from a piece that hit her face.

“I was shocked, I didn’t think it was real,” the mother told the Herald.

That evening numerous parents took to social media, complaining about what children on the bus had experienced.

The Herald understands the driver was new, having started on Monday.

Brougham Buses said in a statement that the situation was under investigation.

“Part of that is finding out what went wrong and how this could have been prevented,” the company said.

“The driver has been stood down and offered support during this process and we are working with the school and parents to reassure them that corrective action is taking place.

“We do sympathise with the parents’ concerns and offer our apologies to those affected.”