19 Edinburgh Schools to Close Indefinitely

[The Boy]

All built under the same PFI contract by the looks of things. No idea where the kids will be going instead, but it's a monumental fuck up.

Safety fears to shut 17 Edinburgh schools

 

[DexterTCN]

A fucking disgrace. Fucking PFI...they were all overcharged as well, weren't they?

 

[weepiper]

Awkward

 

[weepiper]

This is unbelievable really, parents getting texts at 7pm on a Friday to tell them the school will be shut indefinitely from the following Monday. The council advises parents to look into alternative childcare. Just like that! And there's 5 high schools involved, with exams next month.

 

[Celyn]

What a mess. My first thought was for the kids doing whatever the new name is for "O" Grades and Highers, but, come to think of it, it's a right mess for parents of the younger kids who will now have to find childcare for them. Bloody hell.

Wow, the bit about the text at 7pm on a Friday is just sinking in. Holy shit. It's like some sort of bad sit-com. Maybe everyone affected should take their weans along to the City Chambers and leave them there. Or maybe not.

 

[The Boy]

Maybe everyone affected should take their weans along to the City Chambers and leave them there. Or maybe not.

Having witnessed the council debating some bollocks or other back in the day, I had assumed that was already the current arrangement.

 

[Thora]

This is unbelievable really, parents getting texts at 7pm on a Friday to tell them the school will be shut indefinitely from the following Monday. The council advises parents to look into alternative childcare. Just like that! And there's 5 high schools involved, with exams next month.

What, you mean Edinburgh doesn't have loads of cheap/free childminders sitting around on a Friday evening just waiting for phonecalls?

 

[The Boy]

Edinburgh council had 'no option' over schools closure - BBC News

ESP have let the council down but more importantly they have the let children, parents and staff of this city down.

Is Councillor Burns deliberately channeling the voice of a scolding teacher there?

 

[weepiper]

12 million a year, we're still paying for these jerry-built schools. Twelve MILLION pounds.

Amey and Miller win £360m Edinburgh schools PFI

 

[trashpony]

Christ - that's a spectacular level of incompetence and mismanagement. Poor kids (and families).

 

[gosub]

this might in the end be a good thing. I'd null and void all the contracts.
Think this scandal has a LONG way to run, (if Fleet Street can get off its arse and cover it)

 

[purenarcotic]

This is crazy, completely fucked up.

 

[gosub]

So far, outside Scotland, only the Indy has run with this. Interesting from the comments, contractors have built schools in England too, and the problem is a lack of tie-ins holding cavity walls together (£9 for 50)



oops Guardian published 20 mins ago

 

[DexterTCN]

So far, outside Scotland, only the Indy has run with this. Interesting from the comments, contractors have built schools in England too, and the problem is a lack of tie-ins holding cavity walls together (£9 for 50)



oops Guardian published 20 mins ago

Any mention of Labour in any of the articles?

 

[gosub]

Any mention of Labour in any of the articles?

Not yet, still at the point of saying this is as a result of actions taken before we came to power....
But Edinburgh had a Labour council, Scotland a Labour government and the UK a Labour government at the time of construction

 

[DexterTCN]

Guardian article has a picture of Sturgeon, makes sense.

I await Gordon Brown's statement with baited breath.

 

[gosub]

BBC NEWS | Scotland | McConnell accused of council 'bribe'

 

[DexterTCN]

One day we’d like to be surprised

BBC: no mention of Labour at all

BBC (story #2): no mention of Labour at all (even when making reference to the current Labour-controlled council)

STV: no mention of Labour at all

Daily Record: no mention of Labour at all

The Herald: no mention of Labour at all

Sunday Express: no mention of Labour at all

Edinburgh Evening News: no mention of Labour at all

Sunday Post: Labour only mentioned in Andy Wightman quote

Sunday Times: Labour only mentioned in Andy Wightman quote

The Scotsman: no mention of Labour at all, despite Wightman being quoted

Scottish Daily Mail: no mention of Labour at all, despite Wightman being quoted

 

[Tankus]

Inspections have been taking place of other schools in Glasgow, Fife and Inverclyde that were also built by Miller Construction.

maybe in England too

Bloody lucky the weather brought these walls down in an empty school triggering an inspection....on all the constructions
An Aberfan disaster impact in multiple communities doesnt bear thinking about....

I hope there some serious porridge involved for those who built it and signed off...

 

[DexterTCN]

Is this one? 2014

A 12-year-old girl has died after a wall at an Edinburgh school collapsed and landed on top of her.

Pupil, 12, dies after wall collapses at Liberton High School - BBC News

 

[weepiper]

Is this one? 2014



Pupil, 12, dies after wall collapses at Liberton High School - BBC News

Liberton isn't one of the PFI schools but you have to view the council's decision to close all schools built by the same construction company as Oxgangs Primary as a safety measure with the very recent death of a child in a school (due to a wall collapse) in mind. They couldn't do anything else really.

 

[Tankus]

However, we must also question how such significant defaults could escape normal building control scrutiny and we believe it is now necessary for an urgent review of all PPP/PFI contracts, including the terms of the private maintenance contracts which are often both expensive and extremely restrictive."

School closures: Parents to receive update on Monday

Hospitals etc

Heh ......

 

[clicker]

Re childcare...if the schools are shut the teachers are still being paid presumably. Maybe they'll sort out somewhere temp to at least help those kids about to take exams.
Eta ...logistical nightmare.

 

[gosub]

One day we’d like to be surprised

Give it time, need cast iron proof to beat a liable action, however hard to see how any financial tie in between the constructors and politicans being less than the £9 a pack tieins

 

[weepiper]

*smirk*

Joking aside, my sister in law's just posted that they've still heard nothing about alternative arrangements yet (she has two sons at one of the closed high schools, one of whom will be sitting his Nationals next month). There'll be a lot of anxious parents out there.

 

[weepiper]

I've seen the point made on twitter today that a lot of the affected schools are in areas where there's quite severe poverty. The kids that aren't at school because they're closed aren't getting their free school meals.

 

[jakethesnake]

Amazing that the building inspector didn't pick up on tie-ins not being used. The brickies would have known that tie-ins should have been used. I used to work as a labourer for a brick laying gang so I know whereof I speak, and putting ties between the brick and the block wall is such a basic requirement - it always happens - that for them to be missed out must have been a deliberate act rather than an oversight or even simple incompetence. And how did the foreman and the site architect not notice?

 

[equationgirl]

I've seen the point made on twitter today that a lot of the affected schools are in areas where there's quite severe poverty. The kids that aren't at school because they're closed aren't getting their free school meals.

That's a good point, many of those children rely on that free school meals.the council has to do something soon.

I read on the Web today that the council also admitted it had no contingency plans for this situation. Whilst the situation is extremely unusual, there's no excuse for not having some form of back up plan to ensure continuity especially for those sitting exams.

 

[gosub]

Amazing that the building inspector didn't pick up on tie-ins not being used. The brickies would have known that tie-ins should have been used. I used to work as a labourer for a brick laying gang so I know whereof I speak, and putting ties between the brick and the block wall is such a basic requirement - it always happens - that for them to be missed out must have been a deliberate act rather than an oversight or even simple incompetence. And how did the foreman and the site architect not notice?

Same thing found in at least two other schools, so yep not oversight

 

[gosub]

One day we’d like to be surprised

Is starting to look fishy..Fair play to the Tories for making capital out of SNP blocking state of buildings from school surveys for two years (should be part of it) but given the nature of the specific problem wouldn't have shown anything. But truth will out.