Milngavie Primary teacher almost struck by piece of falling classroom ceiling

A teacher at a primary school near Glasgow has narrowly avoided injury after part of the ceiling came down.

Parents say the incident at Milngavie Primary School on Thursday left the P7 teacher feeling “shaken”.

No children were in the classroom when the piece of MDF fell and narrowly missed the staff member sitting at her desk.

The school was due to be fully refurbished as part of a £27m investment but East Dunbartonshire Council decided to pause the project in August after deciding it was too expensive to proceed.

That decision left pupils and parents furious, and their anger has intensified following Thursday’s near miss.

Parents are unhappy at the condition of Milngavie Primary School.

Karen Reid, the chair of the Milngavie Primary Parent Council, told STV News: “I was very concerned when I heard about what had happened but also relieved there were no children in the classroom at the time.

“The teacher had a very narrow escape as she was sitting at her desk when the ceiling patch fell and narrowly missed her. It had four nails protruding from it so we have narrowly avoided a very serious incident.

“She was quite shaken by it and the children were all asking if she was ok when they returned to class following a music lesson.

“The concerning issue is there are a lot of other temporary patches on the ceiling – what if more fall down?”

Ms Reid has a child in primary three at the school and says the school’s condition has been an ongoing concern.

She said: “The council put forward a refurbishment proposal several years ago but since then we have been relying on temporary repairs until the building is fully wind and water tight.

“The council has since decided to pause the refurbishment work and keep moving it down the road. Nothing is actually happening, while the kids are sitting with buckets around them due to dripping water and teachers are almost getting hit by pieces of ceiling falling from the roof.

“It’s just not a secure environment for children and teachers to work in.

“But the council say costs have risen due to inflation and rising interest rates, and that they can’t proceed with the work at this time. They are looking at other options but they really need to elevate the urgency of this situation.

“It is an old sandstone building that is not beyond repair, it just needs to be looked after. A lot of parents in the area are shocked about what happened this week.”

Parents also have concerns about mould at the school, particularly those with kids with respiratory conditions.

East Dunbartonshire Council said there are areas of localised water ingress throughout the school, but that Thursday’s incident is unrelated to ongoing works to solve the problem.

Alan Bauer, executive officer for assets and facilities at East Dunbartonshire Council, said: “A patch of MDF (medium-density fireboard), applied to the ceiling as part of a historic repair, fell from a classroom ceiling in Milngavie Primary School.

“Fortunately, no-one was injured, and a full check of the ceiling has been carried out to ensure the classroom is safe for use. This incident is not related to proposed works to address current isolated pockets of water ingress which has recently been reported to the council.

“The health and safety of staff and pupils is our upmost priority and officers continue to conduct daily checks throughout the school building and carry out any maintenance repairs where required, with further internal works programmed for the school holidays during the October week.

“Options for replacement of the roofs at Milngavie Primary School are currently under review and will be reported to the council in due course for further consideration.”

Marie McNair, SNP MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, said she was “appalled” to hear about the incident.

She said: “The classroom should be a safe environment for pupils and teachers. I have, therefore, urgently contacted the council’s chief executive to get further background and assurances that there is no continuing risk associated with the school estate.”

The Scottish Government released figures last month showing that a record 92% of pupils in Scotland are being taught in schools in a “good or satisfactory” condition.

But the data also shows the number of school pupils being taught in “bad” conditions has more than quadrupled since 2020.