A 4-year-old boy managed to wander away from his Orléans school last Wednesday sparking a board-wide investigation.

The kindergarten student is fine; he was discovered by a couple driving by who contacted authorities.It happened at Arc-en-Ciel school on Portobello Boulevard in Orléans.

It was last Wednesday afternoon when the school got a call from some passersby, wondering if they were missing a 4-year-old boy. That boy had decided he was going home and managed to put on his coat and boots and walk out the door of the school without anyone noticing.

“There was no real reason,” says Guy Dubois, the Superintendent of Education for the Conseil des écoles catholiques du centre-est, “He wasn't sad; he just decided time to go home. He put on his coat and left.”

The little guy lives about 2 kilometres away from the elementary school and started walking in that direction. He managed to make it about 300 metres down the road when a couple driving by saw him and pulled over. They realized something was up, took him home and then called police and the school.

“That's our worst scenario,” says Dubois, “Safety is our number one priority and when you get that call, everyone panics.”

The school principal sent a letter to all parents explaining what had happened and new measures being taken to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Luc Boudreault’s 8-year-old son attends Arc-en-Ciel, “We were concerned,” he says, “It was a little weird that it happened. We don't know why it happened. We were worried for that child that just walked away.”

The letter explained that the school administration had met with the boy's parents, who were clearly concerned their child had managed to leave the school.

"During that meeting," Principal Julie Cloutier-Rainville wrote, "There was discussion about the new safety procedures and a safety plan to ensure that their child would always be safe in the school setting."

The letter says the boy's parents were reassured by the action plan which includes:

increased supervision during transition periods and class changes

more thorough schoolyard monitoring.

and bells on all kindergarten classrooms

“I think they jumped on it and I think they're doing a good job,” says parent Luc Boudreault, “We'll see what happens after that.”

The school has also started doing head counts both in the morning and now after the lunch break to make sure the students are in the classroom where they should be.