The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
School buildings to be given safety review
Council to carry out checks as Our Lady’s in Perth reopens after repairs to ceiling defects
Education officials will take a painstaking look at Perth and Kinross Council’s school estate to ensure it remains fit for purpose.
Council leader Ian Campbell has called for the extensive review in the wake of the defects discovered at Our Lady’s RC Primary in Perth.
It reopened to pupils yesterday after a two-week closure while repairs were carried to ceilings in one of the classroom blocks.
The council has always stressed the closure was “precautionary” and the latest investigations are in a similar vein, but Mr Campbell said he was willing to take no chances with the safety of pupils and staff.
He said the step should give parents confidence in the quality of the school estate across the region – while ensuring that any further defects are caught and addressed.
School safety is in the spotlight once more this month, with a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the tragic death of Liberton High School pupil Keane Wallis-Bennett under way in Edinburgh.
The 12-year-old was crushed by a free-standing modesty wall in one of the school’s gym changing rooms, prompting a widespread review of school buildings across Scotland.
Councillor Campbell said: “Checks of all school buildings in Perth and Kinross have been carried out since the tragic incident at Liberton High School in Edinburgh in 2014.
“These have been visual inspections, backed by referrals for engineering reports where required.
“Following on from the repair work identified at Our Lady’s, I have asked our officers to supplement these checks with a programme of targeted inspections for schools of a similar condition rating and build style/age as Our Lady’s.
“These checks, in addition to the work which has already been carried out, will ensure that we can give confidence to our parents and teachers on the quality of our school estate.”
Mr Campbell said that forward planning and the swift response to “emerging issues” such as that at Our Lady’s should be taken as “a positive sign of how seriously the council takes the safety of the school estate”.
The inspections are over and above the full review of schools across Perth and Kinross that is due to begin in 2018.
Works are already under way to create replacement buildings at Kinross and Tulloch, while primaries at Aberuthven, Forteviot, Methven, North Muirton and Ruthvenfield as well as Perth High and Pitlochry High have been assessed as in need of significant repairs.
These checks, in addition to the work which has already been carried out, will ensure that we can give confidence to our parents and teachers on the quality of our school estate. COUNCILLOR IAN CAMPBELL