6-Year-Old Has Front Teeth Knocked Out By Hammer During Outdoor Camping Lesson

Six-year-old Riley Meredith-Morgan had his front teeth knocked out after he was hit in the mouth with a hammer during an outdoor camping lesson conducted by his school in England to bring awareness among pupils.

Although the details of the incident are not clear, the child’s mother, Susan, 29, said it occurred when the students were being taught safety measures to follow when lighting a campfire and other practical skills needed to survive in the woods on Nov. 22. While the lessons were based on safety rules, the way they were conducted was not safe, Susan alleged.

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

“They can’t seem to see any safeguarding issue here and that’s what bothers me,” she added. “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.”

In addition, Susan said she never received an apology from Riley’s school, Severnbanks Primary in Lydney, Gloucestershire, England. The only thing she was told was that an external health and safety review was carried out by the school and it concluded the incident was an “accident,” which the mother-of-three said “disgusted” her. Susan said the investigators never conducted an interview with her son to ask him his account of the incident.

She was also told that the child who was responsible for inflicting Riley’s injuries was excluded from the forest exercise and even had to spend the next day in isolation.

Riley was rushed to the dentist following the incident and the latter told Susan the hammer must have been swung in full force to have caused the kind of damage to the young boy’s jawline. Although Riley’s gums were healing pretty well after the incident, he will have to spend Christmas with missing teeth. This was because while an x-ray showed a fresh set of teeth hidden inside gums that were injured, it could take another six years for them to fully develop.

While his physical trauma was significant, Susan said she was more concerned about how the incident psychologically affected her son.

“The injury itself is healing now but it’s not just the physical damage. I had to fight with him to get him back to school and I feel sick to my stomach every second he is there,” she said.

Rod Johnson, chairman of the governors at Severnbanks, said the school never compromised on the safety of its students and will continue to remain vigilant on the topic.

“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,” he said in a statement.