A local mother is highlighting the importance for schools to consider children’s backgrounds outside the classroom while keeping them safe, after a child was able to take five blades from an unlocked cupboard at a school in Abergavenny.

The name of the school and the family are being kept out of the public domain to protect the child’s identity, but the family are using the incident to raise awareness of the risks young people face when they encounter knives.

The five Stanley knives were returned to the school as soon as possible and all the blades have been accounted for, but the family still have questions over how they were able to fall into the hands of a child in the first place.

“The cupboard which the blades were taken from was only 155cm off the floor, which isn’t high enough off the ground to be kept out of reach of most primary school children,” they told the Chronicle.

“It was also left unlocked, and we have relayed the message that they shouldn’t have been taken.”

All schools and local authorities are obligated to recognise where extra help and consideration is needed to prevent impairment to the health and development of children under the Education Act (2002) and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act (2014).

Monmouthshire County Council said it was made aware of the incident on the same day and that it was committed to learning from the incident.

"We were made aware of this incident on the day by the school and recognise that this will have been a concerning and upsetting time for those affected,” a spokesperson said.

“As a result of the incident, we have worked with a range of professionals to review school practice and support with the implementation of what learning can be taken from this incident.”

“Whilst it is impossible to prevent every risk in a school it is vital that all schools and settings are alert to any risks that may exist and to ensure ongoing and regularly reviewed best practice in all areas of Health and Safety and safeguarding.”

Despite intervention from the school and local authority, the family still feel there has been little consideration for the recent trauma child has gone through.

Just two months ago, a family member of the child sustained four stab wounds in an attack that left them devastated.

They say the school failed to protect a vulnerable student from grabbing a bladed article in the first place.

“We are beyond grateful that nobody has been hurt as a result of this incident,” they said.

“If somebody had been harmed with a knife, we would be sitting in police custody with school staff and having a very different conversation about what our next steps are going to be.”

The family now want to take the opportunity to raise awareness of the dangers of carrying a knife with young people, with Gwent Police recording 399 ‘knife and sharp instrument’ offences in the 2024 calendar year.