A primary school on the outskirts of Inverness will not open to pupils for the start of term today due to delays with planned roof repairs.
Work was expected to be finished at Duncan Forbes Primary in Culloden during the school holidays but the building is now not expected to open until Thursday.
Pictures taken last week and published on the school’s website show some of the scaffolding inside the building and the partially finished roof.
Yesterday Highland Council’s director of Care and Learning Bill Alexander said: “It has only become apparent that the outstanding work to the school building is going to take longer to complete than we expected and planned for. We therefore have made the decision not to open the school tomorrow and at this time anticipate that the school will open to pupils on the morning of Thursday 18. Our sincere apologies go to all parents and pupils.”
Sylvia Mackenzie’s daughter Sophie and her two grandchildren, Kayson and Shay, were due to start school today. Yesterday Ms Mackenzie said: “There is no way that the school is going to be open on Thursday, it’s surely going to take weeks or months with all of the scaffolding and work that still has to be done. There is no way I will have Sophie in there until I know it is safe”.
Ms Mackenzie’s partner James McNaughton’s also said that on Friday he decided to fill out an online form on the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) website given his concerns about the building’s safety.
HSE confirmed that they did receive the report and contacted the council for an explanation which didn’t involve delays to roof repairs.
A spokeswoman said that HSE was not involved in the authority’s decision and has not and will not take any action.
A council spokeswoman said that the decision not to open the primary school today was the authority’s decision “made entirely on the basis of consultation with the headteacher and council’s health and safety team”.
Mr McNaughton added: “I have seen comments from parents on Facebook and they are absolutely raging. A few parents have taken the day off work just for their child’s first day and now they are saying it will open on Thursday and they won’t be able to go”.
