Parents question Western Australia’s Department of Education’s response to alleged stabbing incident at Goldfields school

The mother of a 14-year-old boy who was allegedly threatened with a knife at a Western Australian school says the Department of Education has failed to support traumatised students.

Western Australia Police responded to an incident between a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old at a Goldfields school on Tuesday and are investigating reports that the 12-year-old was armed with a knife.

A police spokesman said a knife was seized from the school and the student accused of using it was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

ABC spoke to the 14-year-old’s mother, who says her son had major problems after the incident.

“My son is quite traumatized by the whole incident,” the parent said.

“He’s not feeling well at the moment.”

She believed the school was then cordoned off while police and an ambulance were called.

However, she said it took an hour and a half for the school to call and tell her what had happened.

She said the school has not yet informed other parents or offered support to her son or the students who witnessed the ordeal.

‘Lack of transparency’

The mother said her son was suspended from school for 10 days because of the incident.

She was told that the Department of Education’s policy was to suspend “any student” involved in a serious incident.

“I find this totally unacceptable,” she said.

“The next afternoon I went to the principal and asked her why she had suspended him.

“What information did she use, what policies and procedures were used for this suspension?

The mother said her biggest concern was the lack of transparency on the part of the school.

“The other parents were not informed that there was a curfew, that there was a gun in the school, or that police and ambulances were on site,” she said.

“And none of the children, including my child, were offered any support.

“They refuse to give me any information about the incident or anything that has happened since then.”

She said her son gave a statement to police on Saturday about his impact on the victim.

A Western Australian Police spokesman said the investigation was ongoing.

The Ministry of Education was asked for comment.