The brand new, state-of-the-art, North West Community Campus in Dumfries has closed on safety grounds, just a month after opening its doors to pupils, following two safety incidents.
In the latest, a child 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 investigate 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 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.
The school has had issues right from the outset when part of a ceiling reportedly collapsed prior to opening, due to the failing of a sprinkler system.
Reminiscent of my days at Edinburgh’s Telford College when HSE had issued five or six improvement notices within a year of the College moving into a new purpose build campus. It can be turned around, within three years Telford had been awarded accreditation to OHSAS 18001 and not an improvement notice of building defect in sight.