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Little Leonie wanders off into school row

Simon Thacker
24/ 1/2008

LITTLE Leonie Terry didn't fancy the pork chops on the menu for her school dinner.

So the three-year-old wandered out of school - and walked a quarter of a mile after the gates were left unlocked.

Leonie went on a walkabout from Aspinal primary in Gorton, Manchester.

She crossed four roads and was heading towards a busy dual carriageway when the manager of a nearby estate agent spotted her running past and chased after her to bring her to safety.

The toddler, who was `crying her eyes out', is thought to have been missing from the school - where she is in the nursery class - for about 20 minutes before staff were called by Gemma Bailey at Sanderson James estate agent, Reddish Lane, and went to collect her.

Miss Bailey, 24, said: "I was just sorting out the cards in our window when I saw this little girl go running past and she was crying.

"I went outside to see if she belonged to anyone, but everyone I spoke to said no.

"I ran after her and brought her back to the shop and she was cold and very distressed. We asked her what she was doing and she said she didn't like school.

"She was lovely and once we got her talking she was very talkative. We asked her if she'd managed to cross the road by herself and she said she didn't get hit.

"She refused all the drinks and sweets we offered her, so she has obviously been brought up the right way and told to be careful of strangers.

"We contacted the school and they said they didn't even know she had been missing."

Leonie's parents, Michelle Ladkin and Stephen Terry, say they were not contacted by the school until Leonie had been returned there.

Mr Terry, 44, said: "Not only were the gates left open but the school didn't call the police or ourselves to let us know she was missing.

"They said they thought she'd disappeared from the dinner queue while one of teachers was dealing with another child and they went to look for her in the toilets."

Leonie said: "I wanted to go home because I don't like the school dinner." The couple said they are now keeping Leonie off school until they feel confident that suitable security measures are in place.

Aspinal primary head Neil Flint said: "The safety of pupils is of paramount importance to us and we take very seriously any incident where this is compromised.

"Over the last few years we have invested heavily in routines and perimeter fencing to ensure pupil safety. It appears however that yesterday a child left the premises during the lunchtime break through a gate that should have been closed and had been checked earlier that morning.

"The child's absence was noticed immediately by a teacher who ensured that the child was safely returned to school. The teacher was assisted in this by a member of the local community.

"Obviously, a detailed investigation is under way to determined how the incident occurred. Procedures have been reviewed and the necessary steps have been taken to ensure this never happens again."