Safety fears in our crumbling schools

Pupils and staff hurt as councils record 150 building failures

PUPILS and staff have been hit by falling tiles and collapsing doors in Scotland’s crumbling classrooms.

At least 150 building safety mishaps have been logged by councils over the past two years.

Schools across the country have been blighted by windows falling in, walls collapsing and loose tiles and light fittings dropping off.

In one case, a child was trapped under a sliding partition door which came off its runners at a new school in Dumfriesshire.

The school was forced to close after another safety scare.

In other incidents, a gust of wind blew in a window at Clermiston Primary, Edinburgh, next to a pupil. In September, a window panel and frame fell from a school in Glasgow, landing in the playground.

Other cases include a pupil struck by a metal panel off a roof in West Lothian, and a ceiling collapse in Ayrshire. Three of the scares came at Liberton High, Edinburgh – where Keane Wallis-Bennett, 12, died when a wall collapsed in 2014.

In April this year, a ‘heavy ceiling tile fell, landing close to a pupil’, while another fragment just missed a teacher.

Across Scotland, the true figure is likely to be higher, as many councils do not collect and publish the data.

Dundee reported the highest number – 49 in 2017-2018.

Scottish Tory education spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘It is extremely fortunate that more children or staff haven’t been hurt.’

She added: ‘Each one of these represents a risky situation that children or staff have been put in while at school.

‘The fabric of school buildings must be maintained properly. Building reports in school inspections is an obvious way to ensure buildings are fit for purpose.

‘The reports would enable effective monitoring of buildings and prevent further harm.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The health and safety of pupils is of paramount importance to us.

‘All local authorities have a statutory responsibility to manage and maintain the school estate and provide a safe environment for young people and staff. In the current year, councils will receive a local government finance settlement of £10.7billion.

‘This will provide a boost in real terms in both revenue and capital funding for public services, including education budgets.’

The school in the sliding door incident, North West Community Campus, Dumfries, only opened in August.

Council chiefs have insisted it will now remain closed until ‘every bolt, screw and fitting has been checked’, following three safety scares.

In the latest incident, a pupil was hurt by a falling smartboard at the £28million complex.

The school was previously shut temporarily last month over the partition door accident.

The first incident, a leak, was reported in July, only a month before it opened. Social media posts said a ceiling collapsed.

Builders blamed the sprinkler system, saying it caused ‘sagging and superficial damage’.