Dundee City Council’s education head has moved to assure parents that problems at a new city school will soon be ironed out.
A number of “snagging” issues were highlighted during the opening of Tayview Primary School last Friday, including worries about an out-of-use traffic crossing system and the lack of smart classroom technology.
The school’s chaplain, the Rev Robert Mallinson, noted there was no crossing system in place on Friday morning as the school was opening and that a crossing patroller had not been put in place.
Mr Mallinson said he was also disappointed by the lack of smart technology items, such as interactive whiteboards, which had been promised before the school’s opening.
He further complained about the way his concerns were handled at the time by the administration’s education convener.
The convener of Dundee City Council’s children and families service, Councillor Gregor Murray, said a number of “snagging” issues were to be expected in any new build, and that as soon as the crossing issue had been raised a patroller was put in place by the afternoon.
Councillor Murray said a meeting between the parent council and the school would be held in due course.
The convener added: “I do not wish to comment on the reverend’s comments.
“I am concentrating on issues which are going to be fixed, that is my priority.
“The crossing should have been working on Friday morning and I wasn’t aware it was off until someone pointed it out.
“By Friday afternoon we had ensured there was a crossing guard in place.
“It is a priority that the ongoing snagging list is fixed.
“A meeting has been set up between the parent council and the school, where people will be able to raise any concerns they might have.”
The convener continued: “We have built a school for the future.
“Our IT and capital building teams are working to get smart technology in place as quickly as we can.”
Mr Mallinson, who will serve as the new school’s chaplain, has written to the council complaining about the issues he raised, as well as the response he was given at the time.
He said: “There had been a failure to ensure that a school crossing patroller was put in place for that morning.
“Mr Murray then told me it was not policy to put a school crossing patroller in place when there were traffic lights for crossing
“It was at this point that I was truly shocked when the convener for education at Dundee City Council responded that he didn’t care and was uninterested in anything I had to say to him.”