Children at an Aberdeen school which has been without a head teacher for almost two years feel that bullying complaints are not being addressed.
Inspectors criticised Dyce Primary School in a report released yesterday, saying bullying was not being handled effectively.
The school has struggled to find a replacement since its head teacher left in August 2017, with an advert for the £57,300 post proving fruitless earlier this year.
The inspectors, from Education Scotland, acknowledged that “staffing challenges” were to blame for some of the failings.
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The report said: “While we recognise the school has continued to face staffing challenges, insufficient progress has been made since our last visit.
“A significant number of children feel that bullying is not dealt with effectively, and do not feel safe and secure.”
The dossier detailed a questionnaire circulated among parents, where 24 disagreed with the statement that the school “deals well with any bullying”, while 22 “strongly disagreed”.
Of the 117 parents surveyed, 35 others said they had never experienced the problem, 15 agreed that the school dealt well with bullying and one “strongly agreed”.
Among children, 23 said the school did not deal well with bullying while 52 said that it did, and 25 said they had never experienced it.
The report also listed concerns with the school’s nursery, noting that “substantial improvement” is required to help younger pupils succeed.
And the school has been asked to “review” how it helps with children who have additional support needs, to “ensure that these are met consistently well at all times”.
Independent MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Mark McDonald, has a child at the school, and praised “dedicated” staff for their efforts in the face of challenges.
And the SNP politician raised hopes that a recent appointment could bring about improvements.
He added: “A new acting head teacher, who brings a great degree of experience from previous schools, has been appointed recently and this will hopefully help to support the school’s improvement and address the issues identified by the inspectors.
“It is vital that the correct level of support, leadership and guidance is provided to the school from the local authority to overcome the challenges that are being faced – and to give comfort to families.”
An Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said: “We note the findings of the report and will continue to support the school on their improvement journey.
“The Inspectors were reassured that the school has already progressed a number of areas and we maintain regular contact with Dyce School to support and monitor progress.”
