New School closes due to Safety Concerns

It is not great to read that a School closes due to Safety Concerns. This is disruptive to the pupils and immensely frustrating to their families.  A brand new, state-of-the-art School in Dumfries has closed on safety grounds, just a month after opening. This follows two safety incidents at the North West Community Campus.

In the latest incident, a pupil was reportedly hit by an interactive whiteboard which had been mounted to a wall. The boy was not seriously injured. In response Graham (the contractors for the project) conducted an investigation and concluded that “excessive force” had been used on the smart screen.

A statement from Dumfries and Galloway council read:

Dumfries and Galloway Council has taken the immediate decision to close the North West Community Campus until independent assurances can be given on the safety of the building.

We have reached a stage where the Council has lost confidence in any assurances we have been given in relation to the building. We understand and share the anger and frustration of pupils, parents and our staff. Our only concern is their safety.

We are appalled by this latest incident and will not be re-opening the school until we are absolutely confident and have the independent third party assurances that every bolt, screw and fitting has been checked, double checked and is certified safe.

The incident comes just a couple of weeks after a different pupil suffered ‘superficial bruising’ when she was hit by a sliding door, which came off its rails. On that occasion, the school was shut for two days.

A School closes due to Safety Concerns – the school has had issues right from the outset: part of a ceiling reportedly collapsed prior to opening, due to the failing of a sprinkler system.

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