A mother has insisted that the sight of her bloody, 11-year-old kid “running through the door with blood all over him” will be impossible to ever forget. The horrifying scene unfolded when Charlotte Harris-Knight’s son Harrison-Lee was allegedly abused by other kids who sliced him with a piece of broken glass.
Authorities are currently investigating the reported assault, which took place on May 22, involving Harrison-Lee, a Year 7 student at Cullompton Community College in Devon.
According to Harrison-Lee, he was ambushed from behind, forcefully held down, and subjected to continuous punches to his stomach and face by three boys. Additionally, one of the assailants used a shard of glass to cut his arms and left leg.
Harrison-Lee’s mother, Charlotte, has criticised the school, claiming that her son had told a teacher about the possibility of an attack after school.
She asserts that she was not given this information. She has also expressed her disagreement with the school’s choice to punish Harrison-Lee by isolating him, contending that he was only attempting to defend himself against bullies at school after an incident in which he was cornered before the after-school attack.
She told DevonLive: “My son could have been stabbed or even killed, which could have been prevented if the school had phoned me with Harrison-Lee’s revelation to make sure I collected him from school.
“Not once did I get a phone call and not once was I made aware of any goings on in the school which led to this. My son nearly didn’t make it home.”
The school says the matter is being looked into and that it will not tolerate bullying or violence of any kind, DevonLive reports.
Charlotte says the incident began on Monday over a football match at break time that saw her son being targeted by a group of three boys for the rest of the day. It escalated to the point where she says he was seen on CCTV being cornered by the boys and he threw a punch to escape and run away.
That day, at an after-school detention for being late to lessons, it is claimed he told a teacher that he had been threatened with ‘being jumped’ after school. He said her response was, ‘make sure you mention it to your mum after you get home’.
The attack was carried out and Harrison-Lee sustained cuts, bruising to the stomach and a black eye.
Charlotte said: “He managed to get away and he ran straight home. I will never in my life get the vision of my son running through the door like he did with blood all over him.
“He has never been bullied in secondary school before. He has got a very big friend network and this was literally over a football game at break time in school where a tackle went wrong.”
She said: “All the school will tell me is ‘everything is under investigation’. I don’t even know if the children who attacked him have been suspended or are in school.
“If they are still investigating then why was my son in isolation? They have been punishing him for defending himself in school despite then being attacked later. He is not the fighting type and hates bullies.
“I am absolutely appalled and disgusted by the school. As far as I’m concerned they did not follow their own safeguarding protocol and yet are chucking protocol at my son for defending himself in a three-on-one attack in school.”
At a meeting with the school yesterday, May 25, Charlotte says it has been agreed that her son will no longer be put in isolation and that the investigation is ongoing.
Charlotte has shared details of the attack on social media and says she has been contacted by many parents who say their children are being bullied at the school.
She said: “I had more than 30 parents message me on Wednesday asking me to speak up for them when I take the matter higher to the governors and education board. They have shared stories of failed attempts of sorting out bullying problems being experienced by their children.
“I have spoken to the school on behalf of other parents and children to try and help this from happening to at least one other student.”
A spokesperson for the college said: “As a school, the safeguarding, health and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority. We uphold the highest expectations for all students and have a zero-tolerance policy towards any violent or bullying behaviour. We are currently investigating this incident in line with our robust safeguarding, behaviour and anti-bullying policies and we can provide assurance that any necessary action will be taken following the conclusion of this investigation.
“We are also working closely with the family involved to ensure appropriate support is in place as part of our aims to foster mutual respect and kindness throughout the school and provide a safe, calm and productive learning environment for all students. As always, we encourage our students, families and staff to always raise any concerns directly with us, so we can investigate and support as necessary.”
Police have confirmed an investigation has been launched into the alleged attack. They are also appealing for any witnesses to come forward.
