CinemaONE assures children's safety during field trips

CinemaONE CEO Ingrid Jahra has assured that the company will do its part to ensure the safety of students at field trips at their cinemas, after a teenaged girl from St Judes Home for Girls ran away during a group outing to the IMAX Cinema last year.

“Field trips are usually accompanied by one teacher to 20 students and extra security is provided by the education institution as required.”

Jahra said the company’s policy is to ensure that the one teacher to 20 student ratio is maintained for proper supervision of students. She added the company would consult with schools to ensure that the proper security measures were maintained.

She made the statement as CinemaONE relaunched its Ultimate School Field Trip programme.

A statement from the company on February 6 said the programme would have exclusive free movie screenings of local movies for teachers and students for this school term.

In November last year the 17-year-old girl went to the IMAX Cinema with a group of girls and staff members from the home.

When the movie was done, the group went outside to wait for their shuttle to take them back to the home, but, while they were waiting, three of the girls ran off.

Two of the teenagers were found a short time later, but the third remained missing.

Officials at the home were unable to confirm or deny whether the girl was found. An anonymous source at the home explained that when a ward absconds from the home, the matter was taken up with the Children’s Authority and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit.

Sources said if the ward was found, they might only be returned to the home under a court order.