Fears over child safety as 'repaired' ceiling falls at neglected Scots school

Parents at Milngavie Primary School are outraged after a "repaired" part of a ceiling in the building fell down narrowly missing a teacher.

Parents have expressed safety concerns about a decaying East Dunbartonshire school after a teacher narrowly escaped being injured when a "repaired" portion of ceiling came crashing down.

The 150-year-old Milngavie Primary School has had problems with black mould, mushrooms, and water coming through the roof. East Dunbartonshire Council promised to fully restore the school in 2021, but the project was halted this summer owing to escalating costs.

The council stated that its staff conducted daily inspections of the facility and had committed to making more improvements until a renovation can be funded. However, the school's parent council told the BBC that they believe the facility need a new roof, windows and permanent repairs.

Parents believe it is fortunate that no students were present when a portion of the ceiling collapsed, and the safety of children and staff is jeopardised on a daily basis. According to Karen Reid, the head of the Milngavie Primary Parent Council, the school does not provide a healthy learning environment for local kids.

She pleaded with the council to take fast action to make the building watertight and windproof since the teacher, who was nearly hit by a piece of falling wood, is still "shaken".

Ms Reid said: "The teacher was very shaken by the incident and it was quite shocking for parents. She could have been seriously injured. Luckily the children were at a music lesson and not in the classroom. I think seeing something like that would make them very nervous. We have a lot of concerns about the makeshift patches like this - and some of the others are about four or five times the size of this patch."

Ms Reid stated that the incident occurred during parents' week, prompting many parents to question the pace of the repairs.

She said: "Lots of parents were going into their children's classrooms and seeing cracks, patch repairs and damp - and it's just not very reassuring. The optimism that the repairs were coming has gone and we're really concerned for children in the building now. We need the council to realise the urgency of situation, especially when bits of the ceiling are falling down."

Julie, who has lived in the area for 17 years, stated that the wooden square landed in her son's classroom. She told BBC Scotland News that she was outraged to learn that it had been nailed to the ceiling as a temporary fix.

"It's only by chance that it fell when the kids weren't there," she said. "It's really distressing to think about the potential consequences of what could've happened, and it's just luck it missed the teacher. A child could've been stood at her desk when it fell.

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"This just shows what could happen when these things aren't done properly. We need these repairs done well and on a timescale."

Calum, who has two sons in the school and another in nursery, believes Milngavie Primary cannot continue to run in its current state of disrepair.

"Years have gone by and basic stuff isn’t being done," he said. "Somebody has to take responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of the kids while they’re in their place of education.

"It’s an unsustainable situation and there is genuine concern that something quite significant could happen to either a staff member or a child. There’s a real concern, something needs to be done quite urgently."

Leigh has two children at the school and says she fears her son's asthma worsening due to the damp and mould.

"We moved here for work in 2021 and thought it was a nice place with good schools," she said. "The refurbishment was on its way at the time, but now it’s fallen apart and it’s a growing concern for the children’s health. The patch repairs are nothing - it’s water ingress, the roof is leaking. It’s the state of the toilets and the playground. It’s an unpleasant environment for the children to go into.

"I’m quite concerned it’s just rhetoric and waffle and it’ll go another year, two years - and nothing substantial will happen."

A recent external examination of Scotland's school estate discovered that 8.3% of schools were in poor or bad condition, which equates to 204 schools.

The number of pupils in schools with a bad condition rating has increased for the third consecutive year, from 1,736 in 2023 to 4,292 this year. 51,905 pupils are educated in buildings with a poor condition rating.

East Dunbartonshire Council's assets and facilities executive officer Alan Bauer said: “A patch of MDF, applied to the ceiling as part of a historic repair, fell from a classroom ceiling in Milngavie Primary School.

"Fortunately, no-one was injured, and a full check of the ceiling has been carried out to ensure the classroom is safe for use.

"This incident is not related to proposed works to address current isolated pockets of water ingress which has recently been reported to the council."

Mr Bauer said the health and safety of staff and pupils was the council's "utmost priority".

He confirmed that officers conducted daily checks of the school building and carried out maintenance repairs, and further works were planned for the October holidays. Roof replacement options are also under review.

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