Briefing held for Park Primary School parents
A special briefing for parents of Park Primary children was held on Monday evening, 1 March, following the fire in the old building of Park Primary on Saturday morning 27 February.
Highland Council Chief Executive and officers, school staff, local ward members and officers from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service provided detailed information about the response to the incident, the considerable resources involved in bringing the fire under control and the subsequent actions taken.
A Police and Fire investigation will take place once the building has been made safe and people are advised to stay away from the site. The site has meantime been made safe and secure as a priority and an update is expected to take around 4 to 6 weeks.
A number of demountable portacabins will be located at Invergordon Academy to provide accommodation for nursery children who are currently attending South Lodge Primary.
Education psychology support and additional staffing will be made available to the school to provide any support as necessary, including the secondment of a child care manager, an additional support needs officer, management and engagement support.
Chief Executive Donna Manson will take an update paper to the Council later in March and invited parents to share their views on the future of the school. The Leader of the Council has also written to the Depute First Minister to provide an update and request government support.
Chairing the meeting, Cllr Carolyn Wilson thanked the Fire, Police and Council resources responding to the incident. She said: “There has been a tremendous and swift response to this incident. It is undoubtable there has been a real impact on the local community following the two fires on the Park Primary site. We recognise that this may affect people in different ways and significant levels of support has been provided to the school community.”
She added: “We are not in a position to decide on long term plans just yet, as we need to understand all the issues and consider all the options, based on a clearer picture. What is agreed is that we all want the very best outcome for the children and for the community. We need to take the views and feelings of the school and local community into account, as well as await the outcome of the investigations underway.”