Distress over school bus no-show on first day back

"He's lasting astatine the window, looking retired the window, saying, 'Mummy, where's my bus? Where's my bus?' and it's heartbreaking."

Angela Wilson's lad Finn, who has Down's syndrome, was owed to person his archetypal time of the caller schoolhouse twelvemonth successful St. Gerard's School successful westbound Belfast connected Monday.

But a autobus organised by the Education Authority (EA) to instrumentality the 13-year-old to schoolhouse did not arrive, leaving Finn and his household distressed.

A fig of different pupils were besides affected. The EA said they "sincerely apologise to the families impacted by the disruption".

Ms Wilson told BBC News NI that Finn loved going to St. Gerard's and was looking guardant to the caller term.

"It's his archetypal time backmost to school, and he's anxious to get into schoolhouse and spot his friends," she said.

"It's heartbreaking for maine arsenic a mum to ticker him looking retired the window, saying, 'Where's my bus?'"

Ms Wilson, from northbound Belfast, said that arsenic Finn was going into his 3rd twelvemonth astatine St. Gerard's, she had contacted the EA implicit the summertime to cheque his transport to the schoolhouse would beryllium successful spot for the caller term.

"Last week and the week earlier I called the Education Authority to effort to find retired what the concern was with his autobus going to school," she said.

"In the past, he's got taxis and buses.

"I was told that idiosyncratic would ringing maine back, and nary 1 has rang maine back.

"I was near wondering whether a autobus was going to crook up oregon not, due to the fact that I had virtually nary information."

She said Finn was besides distressed.

"We person to effort to support Finn calm—we don't privation to disrupt his greeting arsenic that volition past disrupt his full schoolhouse day," she said. "That tin impact his behaviour erstwhile helium gets into school."

"We were acceptable for 07:30; the autobus usually comes astir 07:40, and past it didn't come.

"We thought that possibly it's delayed, and we waited close up until 08:00, and we past had to ringing a household subordinate to travel and bring him to school."

Ms Wilson has 3 different children, 1 of whom was owed to statesman post-primary schoolhouse connected Monday.

"She was panicking, saying: 'I cannot beryllium late, I cannot beryllium late, mummy' due to the fact that she wants to marque a bully impression," she said.

"I person 3 different kids to get retired to schoolhouse arsenic well, truthful I had to effort to enactment calm and not amusement my kids that I was panicking."

When contacted by BBC News NI, a spokesperson for the EA said they were informed astatine precise abbreviated announcement by the third-party supplier that they were incapable to facilitate the route.

“We recognize the distress this has caused, particularly astatine the commencement of a caller schoolhouse year, and volition proceed to enactment to effort and minimise aboriginal disruption arsenic acold arsenic possible," the EA added.