Invergordon parents "fed-up" over Highland Council response to arrangements for displaced Park Primary pupils
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Parents of children at a fire-ravaged school feel let down by Highland Council after promised work on temporary accommodation was not completed for the start of term.
The chairwoman of Invergordon’s Park Primary parent council says nursery pupils have had to negotiate a building site complete with exposed electrical wiring and heavy machinery since returning from holiday last week.
Elizabeth McPhail says the picture is very different from what was promised – temporary classrooms in place within the grounds of Invergordon Academy in time for the start of the new term.
Instead, she said, works are still ongoing around the site which has provided a home for displaced children since Park school was hit by fire in February last year.
She said a planning application for some of the promised work was only lodged on August 11, just a week before pupils were due to return.
“It is the children who are suffering because of the incompetence of the council,” she said, adding that staff at the school itself were doing “a fantastic job”.
Mrs McPhail has one child at the nursery and two others in the primary school.
“This is about a guarantee we were given that Highland Council would complete the works in time for all the pupils in the school to move into temporary classrooms in the grounds of Invergordon Academy at the start of term,” she said.
“That has not happened.
“A walk into the nursery is dangerous. There have been exposed electrical wires, diggers working and cranes.
“My daughter asked if it would fall on her head.
“No-one has told us what is happening, and no-one has explained why the works were not completed in time.
“For many children the noise alone is frightening, and the fact that the groundworks are taking place so close is worrying for them.”
She said many parents simply feel let down by the local authority and added: “The council keeps asking us what we want, and then they ask us again. It is as though we are not giving the right answer.”
Prior to the pandemic plans were being discussed for a new 3-18 campus for Invergordon, uniting nursery, primary and secondary education in one site, but Mrs MacPhail said: “The majority of parents do not want a 3-18 school, we want our primary and nursery school community back.”
A spokeswoman for Highland Council said the nursery had been successfully registered with the Care Inspectorate for provision of early learning and after school facilities.
“Building control also inspected the nursery unit and certified it for occupation,” she said.
“The groundworks for the two units adjacent to the nursery unit, catering unit and Primary One and Two units are to be completed next week.
“Three other units are also to be installed in a different area of the school campus and these will be ready for occupation in October.
“A construction phase plan to address all relevant health and safety regulations was agreed prior to works commencing.
“This is being adhered to and reviewed on an ongoing basis, with regular visits by the clerk of works who highlights any issues as they arise.
“The site manager also liaises with the school staff as necessary.
“Parents were advised of the revised programme dates prior to the summer holidays. The nursery unit and internal alterations to the main building have been completed for the start of the new session.
“Many projects have been affected recently by the pressures facing the construction industry, both locally and nationally, such as labour and material shortages, and longer lead-in times.”
