School left flagging by safety rules

JUST when education bosses seemed to have come to their senses by allowing parents to help paint schools and hang pictures, they throw another health and safety spanner in the works.

Children at Craigroyston Primary have been unable to fly their Green Flag eco award outside in the school grounds due to the high cost of installing a flagpole.

Yesterday, their prayers were answered when the school received a donation of two poles and the offer of workers to put it up for free, but the celebrations were short-lived as dreaded health and safety rules threatened to scupper the school again.

Council chiefs say they will have to carry out "checks" on the poles to see if they are suitable because they were donated second-hand by contractor Laing O'Rourke, who had them left over following the building of nearby Craigroyston Community High.

Local councillor Cammy Day has slammed the move as "bureaucracy gone mad".

He said: "These parents and kids worked a long time to get this award and the council is letting down families in north Edinburgh. This is an example of more avoidable delays from this council and it's a complete farce."

The Evening News reported earlier this month how children were devastated because buying and erecting a flagpole at the public-private partnership school would cost more than the headteacher's tight budget could stretch to.

As the school was built under the PPP1 scheme, Craigroyston has to ask maintenance firm Amey for permission to make any improvements or alterations, and has to have an Amey-approved contractor carry out the work.

The Muirhouse Place West school is understood to have been quoted 2,100 to have the flagpole erected. The school was instead forced to put the Green Flag – which it won after displaying sustained commitment to environmental issues – on a wall inside.

A city council spokeswoman said: "The council welcomes sponsorship to our schools.

"However, these flagpoles are not new and we will have to carry out some checks."