The Education Authority (EA) has apologised after a four-year-old boy with autism was left alone for four hours on a school bus but the fact that it happened at all is deeply alarming.
The parents of Ryan Calvert are understandably angry after their son was left on the private bus hired by the EA to take him to Edenderry Primary School's Learning Support Centre in Portadown on February 19.
John Calvert questioned how it was possible for a child to be overlooked and said the bus should have been checked.
While he is relieved that Ryan thankfully did not come to any harm, quite clearly there could well have been tragic consequences.
What makes this development especially troubling is that it comes just a few months after a similar case involving another vulnerable child being left on a bus.
The EA launched an investigation after an eight-year-old boy, said to have non-verbal autism, was strapped inside a bus on his own for four hours at its Killyclogher depot outside Omagh.
The boy had been due to attend Arvalee School and Resource Centre in the town for a summer scheme when the incident happened in July last year.
It was reported that the child was only discovered when a depot worker happened to walk past the vehicle.
This was obviously a very serious matter and the EA announced it would carry out a probe, saying: ''The outcome of the investigation will determine what additional measures may be required to ensure an incident of this nature does not happen again.''
We do not know the outcome of that review or what steps have been put in place to make sure children are not left unattended on school buses.
However, assurances were also given in 2015 when a teenager with disabilities was left alone for almost three hours in Enniskillen, and when found was said to be 'cold, distressed and very upset.'
Ryan Calvert's parents deserve a full explanation for what happened to their son but it is frankly unacceptable for a child with special educational needs to be left alone and unattended.
All parents who entrust their children into the care of the EA transport service need to know their safety and wellbeing is absolutely paramount.
