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Bosses of a school have been fined after part of a five-year-old boy’s finger had to be amputated in a horror accident.
The Year 1 pupil was leaving the toilet when his right hand slipped and went into the hinge side of a door at Danetree Primary School in Epsom, Surrey which is rated “outstanding” by Ofsted.
A Health and Safety Executive investigation found there was no door guard installed.
This led to the tip of his middle digit becoming detached as his right hand was trapped.
A teacher recovered the finger’s tip and the child was taken St George’s Hospital in Tooting to undergo surgery to re-attach it.
HSE said GLF Schools, the trust that runs Danetree, had failed to identify the risk to its younger Key Stage 1 pupils while using the toilets.
This meant hinge guards were not installed on doors of the building where older Key Stage 2 pupils also had lessons.
GLF Schools, of Picquets Way, Banstead, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The trust was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £6,875.70 in costs at Staines Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, following the incident on June 15, 2022.
HSE principal inspector Emma Stiles said: “This little boy and his family could have been spared a lot of pain and upset if the trust had installed widely available, effective and inexpensive hinge guards on the doors the young children had access to.
“I would ask all schools to review their estates to make sure they have hinge guards where needed so no other children are hurt in this way when at school.”
Key Stage 1 pupils would use the Key Stage 2 building at least once a week to use its library and learn about music and science.
While in this building, the Key Stage 1 pupils were allowed to make use of loos unsupervised.
A trust spokesman said: “GLF Schools takes its responsibilities very seriously to ensure the highest standards of safety for its pupils in all its schools.
“Danetree Primary School prides itself on its reputation for the high quality of its teaching and the care with which it treats its children. This has been recognised by Ofsted in its rating of the school as “outstanding”.
“On June 15 2022 , a child attending Danetree Primary School suffered an injury to their finger as a consequence of the finger being caught in a toilet door.
“Steps were taken immediately to remedy the situation, and we pleaded guilty to the charge brought by the HSE.
“Following the incident, we have reviewed our procedures and improved our safety measures across all our primary schools to prevent any similar incident from happening again.”
