Minister intervenes in school 'building chaos'

Teachers say building work has disrupted lessons

The schools minister has been called to intervene after allegations of poor workmanship at 20 schools being refurbished under the government's Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

David Miliband has asked the head teachers to compile a report following numerous complaints from staff and parents.

The West Yorkshire schools are locked in a 30-year contract with builders Jarvis Accommodation Services who are carrying out the work at a cost of almost £60m.

Speaking for all 20 head teachers, Alan Connor told File On 4: "It's things like doors falling off, switches not working, shelves not properly attached to the wall.

We were closed for the first three days of term because of health and safety risks

Head teacher Christine Spencer

"We wonder why we went through the pain of negotiating the contract and timetabling around the builders, taking those classrooms out of use."

Christine Spencer, head of Huddersfield's Saledine Nook secondary school, said: "We were closed for the first three days of term because of health and safety risks.

"We had to accept sub-standard laboratories to get children back into school as quickly as possible.

Minister David Miliband is investigating the project

John Smithson, the deputy leader of Kirklees council, which is backing the initiative, insisted Jarvis were successful in a rigorous selection procedure, partly because of their reputation as market leaders.

"They impressed most of us that they could deliver the goods on time. They seemed to understand how to work in the buildings while they were still operating as schools."

Jarvis has provided education facilities for 80,000 pupils and staff at 104 school PFI projects across the nation.

But File on 4 discovered that a school built by the firm in East Renfrewshire had its roof blown off in a storm last January.

St Mearns, the biggest primary school in Scotland, was repaired by council staff as Jarvis were unable to mobilise a workforce for emergencies because that had not been specified in the contract.

The incident is still being investigated by Jarvis's insurers.

'Building site'

The chief executive of Jarvis, Andrew Sutton, said: "Independent structural engineers have investigated the designs drawn up in the first place by a professional firm.

"The works which were the holding-down system on the roof were insufficient to cope with the loading of the high winds."

Mr Sutton acknowledged that, back in West Yorkshire, the teaching environments were not ideal.

"Bear in mind staff are trying to teach in what is, to a large extent, a building site. These projects by their very nature are difficult."

Jarvis and Kirklees district council have issued a joint statement saying they were absolutely confident their PFI project would be successful.

File on 4 were told Mr Miliband was unavailable for interview.

Listen to this edition of File On 4 on Sunday 17 November at 1700 GMT.