Urgent safety checks should be undertaken on all PPP buildings in Scotland following the Edinburgh schools crisis, teachers at the Annual Conference of NASUWT Scotland, the fastest growing teachers’ union in Scotland and the largest in the UK, have asserted.

Teachers at the Conference, which is being held today (Friday) and Saturday at the NASUWT Scotland National Centre in Edinburgh, have called for action to ensure all future school building arrangements guarantee pupils and staff a safe working environment.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said:

“Parents expect their children to be safe when they send them to school and school staff are likewise entitled to expect a safe working environment.

“Following the concern and attention this crisis has generated, the public will need to be reassured that all buildings constructed through PPP arrangements have been rigorously checked and that all future construction projects conform to building safety regulations.

“Teachers and  other school staff have pulled out all the stops to ensure pupils were not disadvantaged during this unprecedented period of upheaval.

“However, given that some schools are not likely to reopen until the start of the new school year, employers must ensure that robust contingency arrangements are in place to prevent teacher workload being adversely affected during this time.”

Jane Peckham, NASUWT National Official Scotland, said:

“The NASUWT is continuing to work with Edinburgh Council, Education Scotland and the SQA to ensure safeguards and arrangements are in place for all affected schools.

“It is now vital that lessons are learnt from this situation, both in Edinburgh and further afield, to avoid any repeat of what has been an extremely stressful and worrying time for pupils, teachers and parents.”