Children at one Merseyside school today protested against the poor state of their school buildings, which they say is harming their education.
This morning, children hung 200 coats on railings outside Riverside Primary School in Seacombe, Wirral, to represent pupils being let down by problems including a heating system which has seen them wearing coats indoors when it breaks.
Paul Parsons, a parent at the school, said: “We would like to thank everyone for their continued support.
“The 200 coats that represent all our children are going to a fantastic charity who will be very grateful."
Mr Parsons said he hoped the protest would draw people’s attention to the lack of funding suffered by the school.
He is running a campaign called ‘Rebuild Riverside’, which seeks contributions from parents and other sympathetic locals to help solve the many things that need fixing at the school due to the age of its buildings. The campaign has already generated over £2,000 and its Go Fund Me page is accessible here.
In recent months, the school has made videos featuring pupils to show the public how bad things are.
A video produced at the end of the summer term by the school reveals problems including worrying leaks in one of the school’s two main buildings. Callum, a Year 6 pupil at the time, said: "Now this is unacceptable Mr Johnson."
In a more recent video, Callum's younger brother Daniel made a heartfelt plea to Boris Johnson. He said: “Please Prime Minister, we know how busy you are but we need your help.”
Responding to a recent story on the school’s problems, Wirral Council said it is working with Riverside Primary to address the issues with the heating system.
In June, Boris Johnson promised to give children a “world-class education” after months off school due to coronavirus.
A £1bn rebuilding programme was promised in order to deliver this, but three months on nothing has changed.
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In response to a recent story on Riverside Primary, a spokesperson for the Department for Education, said: “To help ensure the school estate is safe and supports a high-quality education, we have announced an extra £560 million for school refurbishment this year on top of more than £1.4 billion of school condition funding already committed in 2020-21.
“Local authorities receive an annual allocation to invest in maintaining and improving their school buildings. Wirral local authority has been allocated £3.56m in financial year 2020-21 to invest in its schools, including Riverside Primary."
