School fined £300k after student choking death

A school academy trust has been fined £300,000 over the death of a teenager who choked on a paper towel, after it admitted breaching health and safety laws.

Owen Garnett, 19, a student at Welcombe Hills special needs school, had a condition called Pica, which gave him a compulsion to eat things which had no nutritional value.

He died two days after he choked on the towel at the Stratford-upon-Avon school in 2023.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Owen should have been closely supervised, particularly after a near miss just days before.

The school academy trust, Unity MAT (multi-academy trust), pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Wednesday and was also ordered to pay £10,750 in costs.

The trust said it "fully and unreservedly accepts that more could and should have been done".

Owen's grandparents said in a statement that he was supposed to have been at a place where he felt "safe and secure and happy" and should have been under close supervision at all times.

His foster parents said on his last morning with them, he had waited excitedly for his taxi, given them a cuddle and left for school.

Jacqueline and Graham Blackwell said: "We had been saving to take him to Florida to swim with dolphins, but this is something he will never get to do.

"We ended up having to use this money to cover the cost of Owen's funeral."

An HSE investigation found none of the staff in Owen's class team had received any specific training on the management of safety risks associated with Pica.

Students had individual risk assessments and the risk of choking associated with Pica had been identified with Owen and a named person was supposed to supervise him.

On 9 January 2023, Owen had been in the playground unsupervised, but found his way back into school. Several minutes later, he was found choking.

Emergency services retrieved a ball of paper towel from his throat, but he had been without oxygen for too long and died in hospital, the HSE said.

Days before, he had choked on a towel in the playground, but managed to clear his airway.

The HSE said the school failed to ensure all risks associated with Pica were identified and had failed to respond to family concerns.

HSE inspector Rebecca Whiley said: "The near miss incident a few days before should have raised the alarm with the school and triggered an investigation into how Owen had been able to access the paper towel, and steps could have been taken to prevent it happening again.

"His death resulted from a series of management failures."

A statement from the academy trust said it extended its deepest condolences and sincere apology to the family.

A spokesperson said in the aftermath of the event that the trust had worked to make sure lessons were learned and changes made "to guarantee the safest environment for young, vulnerable people like Owen to live, learn and thrive".

A number of measures have been put in place, the trust added, including comprehensive reviews of safety protocols and procedures, enhanced training for staff and ongoing support and resources for students to ensure their wellbeing.

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