A teacher at a recently closed Hackney primary school has accused removal teams of “theft” after £1,000 worth of items were binned or damaged during a clear-out.
Staff at St Dominic’s Primary School had labelled books, IT equipment, furniture and other items they planned to collect ahead of the end of term on July 18, before the school closed its doors for good following a significant drop in pupil numbers.
But they have claimed when they returned to the school after a weekend off they found Hackney Council’s removal teams “gutting” the school with no warning.
Year 3 teacher Carly Slingsby told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) £1,000 of her items were either binned or damaged.
Lego sets used to teach pupils coding, a portable basketball hoop and stand "bent and left unboxed in the rain" and a green screen kit worth £200 with its lightbulbs "smashed to pieces".
The teacher said council removal teams told her boxes stacked with supplies were due to be sent to landfill.
She explained: “All we were told was that we had to gather and label our things. Our school leadership didn't even know stuff was going to be removed, we'd had no emails, communications or anything.
"This is theft. If it were pencils and paper, fine, but I worked hard to buy these things for my school because I knew it couldn't afford them."
Parent and PTA member Olu Seun said she and her daughter had lost personal items - including a school bag and workbooks - which were stored in a PTA room locker.
She said the last few weeks leading up to the closure had been "very emotional" and said that the removals team should “have respected our feelings”.
According to Hackney Council, school staff were instructed to collect belongings by Monday, July 21, with this deadline extended first to Wednesday, July 23 and then to midday the following day.
The town hall told the LDRS only items which were too old, damaged or unsuitable for re-use were taken to Millfields recycling centre as a last resort.
The council added that it had apologised and offered to reimburse school staff.
But Ms Slingsby maintains there was no such warning, and that items she and others had rescued - including dolls' houses, books and paints, were "completely usable" and had been donated to other organisations like Hackney Children and Baby Bank.
Local parent and Green Party activist Laura-Louise Fairley told the LDRS she saved "4,000 books and several boxes of art materials, stationery, and toys" which had been destined for the tip.
Responding to criticism over the school's "sudden gutting" at a recent council meeting, Mayor of Hackney Caroline Woodley said the incident arose after a "miscommunication", and that the clearance was stopped on Monday as soon as the council was alerted.
In an email seen by the LDRS, the borough's education chief, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, said the actual date removals would begin "should have been made clearer".
Ms Slingsby continued: "It's shocking. I can't describe how distressing this whole process has been. In September, the council talked about learning lessons from last year. I don't understand why there's been such a lack of sympathy."
In April, the council confirmed it would shut St Dominic's along with three other primaries in the borough after a collapse in pupil numbers.
The decision followed four other primary schools being shut last summer.
The council recently revealed that the closed school sites may be transformed into temporary accommodation or specialist sites to help children with special educational needs.
It has invited organisations to submit ideas on how to use the former Colvestone School for community benefit.
The council has suggested turning Baden Powell Primary School into a new special school, while Randal Cremer and De Beauvoir schools could be turned into temporary accommodation to help keep some families in the borough and tackle homelessness.
Mayor Woodley has acknowledged the closures have been "incredibly tough" for pupils, families, school staff and their wider communities.
