Mum's fury after son's teeth knocked out after hammer accident at school

A mum is fuming after her six-year-old son's teeth were knocked out - when he was hit in the face with a HAMMER at school.
A six-year-old boy had his front teeth smashed out with a hammer as pupils took part in a lesson designed to give young children hands-on learning experiences of the great outdoors. Picture: SWNSA six-year-old boy had his front teeth smashed out with a hammer as pupils took part in a lesson designed to give young children hands-on learning experiences of the great outdoors. Picture: SWNS
A six-year-old boy had his front teeth smashed out with a hammer as pupils took part in a lesson designed to give young children hands-on learning experiences of the great outdoors. Picture: SWNS

Little Riley Meredith-Morgan lost his two upper front teeth when the tool was thrown during an outdoor school forest lesson.

The youngster is unable to eat or drink without using a straw - and will be toothless for Christmas as he waits to see if the adult teeth will grow back.

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A dental x-ray revealed a third set of teeth above the gum, but it could take up to SIX YEARS for these to grow through.

Mum Susan, 29, is “disgusted” after an external health and safety review investigated the incident and concluded it was an “accident”.

Susan, a mum-of-three, claims she has not even had an apology from Riley’s school, Severnbanks Primary in Lydney, Glos., following the incident on November 22.

Susan was shocked when she saw Riley after getting a message to say he had been injured during forest school, which teaches children about natural woodland.

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She said: “When I got to the school he was still in shock. My six-year-old boy had been hit in the mouth with a hammer and had his front teeth knocked out.

“It broke my heart to see him. He had to have time off school because of the severe discomfort and and he couldn’t eat or drink without a straw.

“The injury itself is healing now but it’s not just the physical damage.

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“I had to fight with him to get him back to school and I feel sick to my stomach every second he is there.”

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Susan is also mum to Riley’s twin brother Alfie and older sister Layla.

The exact circumstances of the accident are unclear, but Susan claims it happened after a group of six-year-old boys were given a safety talk.

Forest lessons, such as making campfires and learning practical woodland skills, are growing popular with schools.

But Susan, who lives in Lydney, says more needs to be done to make the lessons safer after Riley’s injuries.

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She said: “They can’t seem to see any safeguarding issue here and that’s what bothers me.

“Something more needs to be done. I haven’t even had an apology from anyone involved. The lack of compassion is unreal, it’s diabolical.”

She says a dentist told her the hammer must have hit Riley in the face with some force to have knocked his teeth out.

The following day she was told the other child involved had been excluded for the rest of the day. The pupil then had to spend the following day in isolation.

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Susan was assured there would be an investigation, and the school referred the incident to external health and safety consultants - during which nobody asked Riley what had happened.

And she was left angry to find out Riley’s injury was concluded as an “accident”, and that the school deemed they had taken “appropriate action”.

She said: “The punishment for the child is not my issue. Accidents do happen. I just want justice for my boy.

“I left it over a week to see what they came back with and to see if I would have a written apology, but nothing.

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“They have left me with no choice but to let people know what happened.”

Susan says she does not want to take the “easy option” of removing her three children from the school, which is rated good by Ofsted.

She says she will carry on fighting until somebody is brought to book for the accident which could have left Riley needing false teeth at the age of six.

Rod Johnson, chairman of the governors at Severnbanks, said the health and safety of pupils has always been paramount at the school and will continue to be so.

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He said in a statement: “The recent Ofsted report acknowledges that the school places pupils’ well being and safety at the heart of all it does.

“The incident referred to happened during an outdoor Forest School session where children may use a variety of tools.

“The headteacher delegated the responsibility to the deputy head to investigate this matter to ensure it was dealt with impartially, and so there could be no inference of bias or prejudice.

“The school has followed its normal policies and procedures. An investigation has been undertaken of the incident including risk assessments and interviews with all parties involved.

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“When an incident like this occurs, the school refers the incident to external health and safety consultants.

“They have considered all the evidence and it is their view that this was an accident.

“As is standard for any accident such as this, the school has conducted a further review of its procedures and risk assessments.

“The school has taken action that it deems to be appropriate in the circumstances of this accident.”