BAD FALL: A 12-year-old Canobolas Rural Technology High School student was badly injured when he fell from this walkway on Thursday.
THE parents of a 12-year-old boy badly injured after falling over a stairwell railing at the Canobolas Rural Technology High School on Thursday are calling for an investigation into the incident, saying their son was pushed.
The boy’s mother, who asked not to be named, said her son, who is in year 7, was a victim of bullying and she had previously contacted the school regarding her concerns.
“I’m determined to get to the bottom of this,” she said.
“I think he was pushed.
“He’s been bullied on and off since the beginning of the year.”
Despite the alleged bullying the woman said her son enjoyed high school and had attempted to ignore problems he was having with other students.
The mother said she hadn’t had a long conversation with her son after the incident because he had been heavily sedated following six hours of surgery to repair a broken right ankle and left leg.
“He will be in a wheelchair for six weeks and he’ll have to learn how to walk ... there’s a slight chance he might not walk again.”
A Department of Education and Communities spokesman said the circumstances surrounding the boy’s fall did not “indicate the physical involvement of other students”.
He said a preliminary investigation found the boy fell while sliding down an external pole he accessed from a ledge after climbing over a safety rail.
The spokesman confirmed the accident had happened in an area of the school where students were told not to go as it was unsupervised.
“No other students were on that area of the second floor [and] the circumstances do not indicate the physical involvement of other students,” he said.
The boy’s mother said she had visited the school several times to discuss alleged bullying incidents involving her 14-year-old daughter and once regarding her son.
The mother said the area where the accident occurred was dangerous and she wanted to know why it wasn’t enclosed in perspex or secured with additional railings.
The mother said students at the school had shot footage of her son after his fall on mobile phones.
“When I heard that [about the footage] it really pissed me off,” she said.
The spokesman said the school had no record, reports or observations of the student being bullied.
“Police attended and if police determine the need for further investigations the school will co-operate fully, including providing the information gathered in their investigations so far,” he said.
“As part of the school’s investigations, it is examining how to prevent any student deliberately climbing to an out-of-bounds area over a safety railing.
“In addition to the safety railing, the school will consider enclosing the walkways between blocks to prevent similar occurrences.”
Canobolas Local Area Command crime manager Denise Godden said police had not received any information the boy had been pushed, despite speaking to witnesses.
She also confirmed police had not launched a formal investigation into the incident.
tracey.prisk@ruralpress.com