Last week Conor, 8, failed to turn up to Lochmaben Primary and a widespread search for the youngster, who was missing for eight hours, kicked off.
However, mum Charlene and dad David were not contacted by the school when he failed to show. Speaking to this newspaper, Charlene explained that a family friend raised the alarm when she saw Conor wandering around the town at about 9.30 am.
The worried mum rang the school who confirmed that her son had been a no show that morning.
She said: “Obviously I felt let down that the school hadn’t called me themselves, normally I’d get a text if Conor hadn’t shown up or was absent, that’s routine, but in that moment the most important thing was finding him as soon as possible.”
Charlene added: “In the school’s defence they were amazing afterwards, I can’t fault them there. They were very helpful and sympathetic.”
A spokesman for Dumfries and Galloway Council refused to comment on the case and said: “It would be inappropriate to discuss an issue involving an individual pupil through the media.”
He did, however, add: “The safety of pupils is paramount. We regularly review school procedures to ensure the safety of our pupils and improve them where necessary. “The school has held an assembly for all pupils on ‘keeping safe’.”
