Building Works at Barnhill Primary School Behind Schedule

As we enter the last week of the school holidays, the extension and improvements at Barnhill Primary School are not yet complete with many building workers still on site. 

Teaching staff are programmed to undertake Professional Development and preparation on Monday and Tuesday next week with pupils due to start school on Wednesday 20 August. 

But will the school be ready to handover by the end of this week?  I have been informed that the contractors are running behind schedule but forecast they will now be finished on Friday 15 August. 

I am concerned that if there is any further slippage, the school may not be ready for the pupils and their teachers next week.

Call for Building Work at Barnhill Primary School to be Complete Before Pupils Return Next Week

Click on image to enlarge

When I visited Barnhill Primary School on Monday evening, building work by the Council appeared to be seriously behind schedule for the new term beginning next Tuesday. 

Over the six week summer holiday, the temporary classroom that houses the Nursery Class was supposed to have been moved from its site close to the front entrance to a new location at the other side of the school. When I visited on Monday evening, I had expected to see the job done or merely the finishing touches to be completed. Unfortunately the site preparation for the relocated hut was still being undertaken and the Nursery Hut hadn't budged from its original location. The school looked like a building site with the playground on the Abercromby Street side of the school fenced off - see photograph.

Apart from the temporary classroom being moved to its new location, services will need to be connected, there are access ramps to fit, external play equipment to be moved, secured and fenced off all before the Care Inspectorate are called in to inspect and approve the relocated nursery unit."

I contacted the Director of Education to pass on my observations and seeking a reassurance that the re-located Nursery will be ready to welcome its young pupils next week and the school site ready for its staff and pupils.

On Tuesday morning, I was relieved to hear from the Director that the Nursery Unit move had been rescheduled. It will now be moved to its new location during the October holiday. It still looks like it will be a challenge to get the playgrounds and the external areas around the school tidied up before the beginning of term.

When members of the Parent Council were briefed about the extension of their School earlier this year, they were assured that the work would be carefully scheduled and monitored to ensure that disruption to the teaching and learning would be minimised. This does not appear to be the start that they were promised.

No Extra New Schools for Dundee in SNP Investment Plan

The SNP Government's Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011 was published on Tuesday. The section that deals with school buildings is entitled Scotland’s Schools for the Future. 

"The £1.25 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future (SSF) school building programme was announced in June 2009. The Government will provide £800 million funding support, from 2010-11 to 2017-18, with the balance coming from local authorities. The programme is being co-ordinated, managed and facilitated by the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT)."

(Infrastructure Investment Plans 2011 December 2011 page 77)

Disappointingly, no additional school building programme has been announced for Dundee in this plan. The plan merely re-announces the rather modest sized national school building programme that was first launched in June 1999. In September 1999 when the government announced some of the specifics, it promised two thirds of the funding for a replacement school for Harris Academy in Dundee. Dundee West MSP, Joe Fitzpatrick, went on Newsnight Scotland to defend his government's record and claimed that work on these new schools would start on site before the next election which was in May 2011. The last report to the City Council on the progress of Harris Academy predicts no start on site before 2013.

Based on their over four and half years in government, the SNP have been strong on bluster about their school building programme and announcing and re-announcing it but weak on action. Unfortunately, this plan comes with the same health warning in relation to the prospects for actual new school building funded by the Scottish Government.

West End Schools' Progress - Slow, Quick-Quick Slow

At the Education Committee tonight, members will be asked to approve the tender for the building for the replacement West End Primary Schools. This will bring together St Joseph's Primary School and Park Place Primary School and Nursery School onto a shared campus on the former Logie Secondary School site on Blackness Road.

This is most welcome step in building new schools in the city. In two years time,

children in the catchment areas of both schools will enjoy state of the art school buildings and facilities that are fit for the 21st century. It also another important milestone in the Council financed school building programme which was initiated while Labour led the Council 2007/9. This was part of the capital plan which the Labour led administration bequeathed for the city. In the two years since the SNP have run the council, significantly they have not added any major school building projects to the Council's Capital Plan when it has been reviewed. Indeed, at the last meeting of the Education Committee, they refused to bring forward a feasibility study on extending and refurbishing Barnhill Primary School.

While progress has been significant with improving the West End primary schools, I wish we could see more progress with the replacement of Harris Academy. Unfortunately, this has been quagmired in the delays by the Scottish Government's Scottish Future's Trust. The SNP promised in May 2007 that they would match Labour's Public Private Partnership government funded school building programme 'brick for brick' and find a cheaper way to procure new schools. Unfortunately their recipe for cheaper procurement did not work. It seems that the Scottish Future's Trust is aptly named only ever talking about things that remain tantalisingly in the future. Readers may remember that Joe Fitzpatrick MSP Dundee West went on Newsnight Scotland and promised that Harris Academy would be rebuilt by the elections next month. Not only has this scheme not progressed even to a start on site, but the SNP's Scottish Future's Trust has yet to build even one school in Scotland let alone one in Dundee. If we are to avoid two tier set of school buildings in Dundee, we need a continuing programme of school building and school refurbishment in the city.

This is a time for parents and carers as well as teachers to distinguish between rhetoric and reality. They should be able to clearly see who is responsible for progress in school rebuilding in the West End; who is responsible for the quicks and who for the slows.

Council Should Revive Plans for Extension and Improvement of Barnhill Primary School

With confirmed pressure on school places a growing issue in the north of Broughty Ferry and especially in the catchment area of Barnhill Primary School, it makes sense for the council to revive its plans to refurbish and extend the school in a manner similar to the development of Forthill Primary School. This could not only expand the school from two to three form entry but also move the nursery out of the temporary huts where it is currently located.

In fact the council applied for and received outline planning consent for such a development in Spring 2002.

I think parents should expect that the council must now revive these plans as a matter of urgency. I shall be looking for this to be included in the revised capital plan which the council will be bringing forward soon.

Of course this will not provide an immediate solution to the lack of capacity this year but might reassure families living in the Barnhill Primary School catchment area that that the council have a satisfactory rather than makeshift longer term solution.

Education Committee Denied Report On School Building Programme

The SNP Administration on the City Council has failed to bring back to the Education Committee a timely report on its 'plans for the next phase of school building and refurbishment in the City, including any projects to be funded by the Scottish Futures Trust'.

At the meeting of the Education Committee, on Monday 28 September 2009, I had requested:
'the Committee to agree that the Director of Education should be requested to bring forward a Report about plans for the improvement of the School Estate in Dundee, more particularly by giving an overview of plans for the next phase of school building and refurbishment in the City, including any projects to be funded by the Scottish Futures Trust, to the next meeting of the Committee.'

At the meeting, I was persuaded that a more realistic time-scale should be imposed. With the verbal reassurance from Education Convener that a report would be presented before the Budget meeting in February 2010, I agreed to withdraw my motion and not go to a vote. This agreement was not minuted.

The lack of a report on the agenda of the Education Committee on Monday, reveals a contempt for the Education Committee who will be denied an opportunity to scrutinise progress with each of the schools in the capital programme before the capital plan for the Council as a whole comes up for approval at the budget meeting on Thursday next. I am concerned about what the SNP administration have to hide from parents and members of the Education Committee.

Another Success from PPP Building Programme Celebrated at Opening of Rownatree Primary School

Laurie Bidwell, Labour’s Education Spokesperson on the City Council in Dundee said:
“Earlier today, I was privileged to attend the official opening of Rowantree Primary School. Today was principally about celebrating the emerging identity of this new school which is the result of the merger of Mossgiel and Mid-Criagie Primary schools sixteen months ago.

The children entertained us with recitations of poetry, singing, dancing and music making. The thoughtful programme featured a fine blend of tradition and modernity, interweaving the songs and poems of Robert Burns with songs by the Proclaimers and Dougie MacLean. The opening celebrations also included playing by the staff band who demonstrated that, like their pupils, they were a very talented team.

The new school is built to barrier free design with outstanding facilities for teaching and learning that will help staff deliver the new curriculum for excellence. I am sure that this school will serve the communities of Linlathen and Mid-Craigie as a place for children to enjoy learning and celebrate their achievement and attainment. In addition, its provision of a Community Room, Sports Hall and external all weather pitch will mean that this school has the potential to develop into a resource for parents, carers and other adults to engage in community learning and recreation."

Call for Harris Academy Refurbishment in Dundee as Matter of Urgency

Laurie Bidwell, Labour’s Education Spokesperson on the City Council in Dundee has placed a motion on the agenda of the next Education Committee (Monday 28 September) demanding the declaration of the plans for the next phase of school building work in Dundee; especially the major refurbishment of Harris Academy. During his time as Education Convenor, a feasibility study was conducted by the City Council Education Department which examined options for improving or replacing the Harris Academy buildings. This was shared with members of the Harris Academy Parent Council and West End Councillors in Spring 2009. This study conceded that there was an urgent need to improve or replace the Harris Academy Buildings to bring them up to modern standards to meet the ideals of a 21st century school. Compared with the gleaming new St Paul’s Academy and the soon to be completed Grove Academy, Harris Academy has major deficiencies more particularly:
- The existing classroom dimensions, particularly in the 1930s block, are below an accepted minimum for modern teaching practices;
- The building falls well short in meeting the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) legislative requirements and is inadequate in satisfying the accessibility needs for pupils and staff with disabilities;
- There is currently no facility to allow expressive arts to be fully and satisfactorily integrated into the school curriculum;
- There are inappropriate and inadequate pupil social areas within the building and dining areas are insufficient;
- The location, distribution and condition of pupil toilets are not conducive to providing a safe, secure pupil environment, and are difficult for staff to supervise;
- Traffic and pupil movement around the school, and entering and exiting the school, creates hazards posing significant safety concerns particularly at the start and end of the school day and
- The Harris Academy campus presents significant challenges for fire safety.

In the absence of a suitable alternative site within the catchment of the school, the feasibility study concluded that the most practicable option was to comprehensively refurbish the existing school buildings at a cost close to £20M. The urgency of Harris Academy’s case is primarily educational, but if the refurbishment is tackled sooner rather than later, the spiralling cost of maintaining the existing buildings would be avoided.

Councillor Laurie Bidwell, Labour Education Spokesperson on Dundee City Council, said:
“I think it is important that the Education Convener, Liz Fordyce, urgently commits to secure funding for the upgrading of Harris Academy because, using the Scottish Government's School Estate criteria, Harris Academy buildings have been judged to be 'poor'. Following the opening of St Paul’s RC Academy last Tuesday and the imminent completion of the rebuild of Grove Academy as part of the PPP school building programme in the city, Harris needs to be upgraded to avoid the conclusion that there is a two tier set of secondary school buildings in Dundee; more specifically, the gleaming new St Paul’s RC Academy, the rebuilt Grove and Morgan Academies and the refurbished St John’s RC High School in contrast with the deficiencies in the Harris Academy buildings. A comprehensively refurbished Harris Academy will build on the valued traditions of the school and provide enhanced opportunities for teaching and learning.”

“I have questioned the Education Convener, SNP Councillor Liz Fordyce, more than once at the Education Committee inviting her to declare the council's priorities and programme for the next phase of school building in the city. She has consistently declined to do this. Why is she so shy declaring her programme of school building and refurbishment in the city? I thought that she would want to demonstrate that she was determined to make a reality of the SNP May 2007 electoral promise to 'match Labour's, school building programme brick for brick'? Declaring Harris Academy as a priority would be an important step towards this. Parents and carers in Dundee will want to know from Councillor Fordyce, whether she has any plans, for new schools and school refurbishment, beyond Labour's programme for Dundee?"

Dundee West MP, Jim McGovern, said:
“I think the case for Harris being the next major school building project in Dundee is overwhelming. I hope the Scottish Government will prioritise Harris Academy in the first round of work to be part funded by them via the Scottish Futures Trust. This will not only improve the education of children in the city but also help to secure jobs in the construction industry in Dundee.”

West End Councillor Richard McCready said:
“Harris Academy has a proud record promoting the attainment and achievement of generations of children. The feasibility study surely makes its own case. I have consistently supported the prioritisation of Harris Academy and will do so again at the Education Committee next week.”

Harris Academy Should be Number One School Building Priority in Dundee

On Wednesday 17 June, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Fiona Hyslop, announced a national school building programme supported by £800 million of Scottish Government funding to be shared by all 32 local authorities in Scotland .

Labour Education Spokesperson on the City Council, Laurie Bidwell said,

"The SNP promised a lion and have unveiled a mouse! In the SNP election manifesto in May 2007 they claimed they would 'match Labour's school building programme brick for brick'. This announcement will mean the SNP government will not commission and deliver one new school before the next Holyrood election in May 2011. In addition its scale will probably only help to deliver (by way of 75% national funding) one new secondary school in Dundee . In the Labour led programme in Dundee we delivered two new secondary schools (St Paul's and Grove Academies) and six new Primary Schools via a PPP project worth £90 million (£120 million at 2011 prices). In addition, our administration on the city council, commissioned five new primary schools Whitfield, West End (2) and Lochee-Charleston (2) and the replacement for Kingspark School using prudential borrowing. By any measure, the SNP offering falls very far short of matching our impressive school building programme.

Under my watch, as Education Convenor, a feasibility study was undertaken to rebuild or refurbish Harris Academy . That was recently completed and shared with the Head Teacher and Parent Council. The various strategies have price tags starting at about £20 million. Will SNP Education Convener Liz Fordyce now confirm that Harris Academy will be her number one priority on the Council's shopping list?"

Councillor Richard McCready said,
"Harris Academy is crying out for investment. I urge the City Council to make the case for investment in the Harris to the Scottish Government. People in the West End know that Harris Academy is a good school they also realise that it needs to be modernised. Action is required now."