Two primary school pupils sparked a desperate search when they slipped out of school without teachers noticing.

A seven-year-old girl together with her epileptic and autistic friend were missing when their parents came to collect them at the end of the school day.

Police had to be called to King’s Farm Primary School in Cedar Avenue, Gravesend, when Chloe Chambers and Gabrielius Puzaras disappeared.

Scroll down for video

Mum Clare Chambers turned up to the school at 3.10pm, five minutes early to collect her daughter, but she was gone.

After questioning staff it became apparent Chloe had been sent out of class with 30 other children to collect her coat, but when they all returned staff failed to notice she wasn’t among the group.

Gabrielius’ mum, Jurgita Puzariene, went to pick up her eight-year-old son and said when there was no sign of him either, the school went into a panic, said the mums.
After half an hour of searching the police were called.

VIDEO: Chloe and Gabrielius left school without teachers noticing. Josie Hannett reports.

She said: “My son should never be unaccompanied in the school because if he has a fit, he’s needs treatment straight away.

“They’re even meant to go to the toilet with him. So I don’t understand how this has happened. They took their time calling the police as well.

“I don’t feel like he is safe there any more, and I’m looking for other schools to send him and my daughter to.”

One teacher got in her car and was driving around the area looking for then. She finally came across the pair next to the Lord Street car park around an hour later.

They had walked over a mile and a half on their own.

Mrs Chambers, 31, and husband Stephen, who works for Southeastern and was off that day, were taken into a staff room when it first became apparent their daughter had gone.

She said: “We were both really worried. We had no idea what had happened to her. The thing that angered me is that the school has CCTV cameras, but the system wasn’t working, so we couldn’t view the last half hour to even see which exit the children had left by, or if they were with anyone.

“Staff just kept saying, ‘We have procedures in place for this’, but if they had proper procedures this shouldn’t have happened.”

It is thought the young pair had mingled in with some other children who were let out to get into booked taxis and, unnoticed, walked off from there.

Mrs Chambers, of Jellicoe Avenue, Gravesend, also has a four-year-old, Ben, at the nursery on the same site and added: “They obviously just wanted to have an adventure, they went to the park, and they didn’t think about the repercussions.

“Obviously Chloe has been in trouble, she’s had her school privileges taken away and at home its homework, dinner and straight to bed.

“She seems to have learned her lesson, but I’m not happy with the way the school handled it.”

The school held a meeting the following day to discuss implementing further safety measures and on Thursday, more staff were present around the school grounds and in corridors around home time.

But Mrs Chamber’s had argued it should have been standard practice already and according to Mrs Puzariene, these measures have already become lax.

Police confirmed they were called and the children were found 15 minutes after they arrived.

Consultant head teacher Catherine Taylor said: “There was an incident as the children were putting their coats on to go home.

Children are instructed to go back into their classrooms and teachers only let them out when a parent or carer arrives at 3.15 when the gates are unlocked.

"However, on this occasion two children decided to leave through the main entrance with other children who were being collected by taxi.

She said a search was immediately begun and police called.

“Thankfully the children were found by school staff safe and well.

“The school grounds are covered by fully working CCTV for staff and pupil protection, but it was quicker to carry out an immediate search rather than checking the film, which would only cover the area up to the school gate,” she added.