AT least one teacher knew Armani Dirani could not swim on the day the eight-year-old student drowned while 15 teachers, four teachers aids and four lifeguards looked on, an inquest was told yesterday.
And a permission slip that sealed Armani`s fate was released at the inquest into death of the Cambridge Gardens Public School student while on a school excursion to Glenbrook Swim Centre on December 15, 2006.
The "can swim 20m" is clearly in a different pen and possibly a different hand to the dated signature of her father Raja Dirani.
But it gave her unlimited access to the "big pool" - with a depth of 1.8m, way over the 1.23m height of the second grader.
Lawyer acting for the Dirani family, Anthony Black, said a statement taken from one of the lifeguards on duty that day stated that one of the teachers told him Armani was a "non swimmer".
"That would be contrary to the understanding that the teachers had professed to have had, having regard to the note being circled," Mr Black said.
"Particularly when we have no idea who has placed the circle on the note and we know that the note was not circled at the time it was signed and we know that Armani`s brother`s note was also not circled."
The "can swim 20m" meant that Armani was allowed to use a giant inflatable device set up in the deep end of the pool that day.
The inquest heard all staff were standing on one side of the inflatable but no one was standing on the other side of the pool in case a child fell of or got into trouble.
It would have been impossible for staff to see what was happening under the inflatable or on that far side, the inquest heard yesterday.
Armani was spotted lying against the side of the pool at the bottom of the pool a few metres from the end of the inflatable.
