Storm over Council cash on iPads over school repairs

Furious parents have hit out at a council for spending thousands on iPads for pupils while repairs to the school buildings were left undone.

Angry mums and dads have called on education bosses in Edinburgh to get their priorities right.

Their pleas come in the wake of the tragic death of Liberton High School pupil, Keane Wallis-Bennett, 12, who was killed by a collapsing wall last week.

Council chiefs in Edinburgh announced in March last year they were giving tablet computers to children in four schools.

They said the ultimate plan was to issue the devices to all 44,000 pupils at a potential cost of £6.5 million.

This is despite concerns over the condition of some schools in the city.

Parent Susan Grady was among those to accuse the council of putting technology ahead of pupil safety.

“It is tragic that Keane should die when thousands of iPads are to be given out,” she said.

Her plea to council bosses to invest more money into school maintenance has been backed by Lindsay Law, parent representative on the council’s education committee.

“The top priority should be safety and it should not be secondary to anything else,” said Lindsay.

“It should be the number one issue. While some schools are given iPads others go without vital repairs.

“We parents were reassured by the council that most urgent ones had been addressed.

She added: “We were appalled that the wall was not in the survey carried out at Liberton High “This is a huge blow for Keane’s family.

“I must add that Liberton is not the worst rated.

“I was told of a primary school where a chisel fell from scaffolding recently and when a parent phoned the council to complain they were asked why they were calling.”

Gavin Corbett, education spokesman for Green Party in Edinburgh, said: “In a wealthy city like Edinburgh children should not be having to choose between using the most up-to-date learning aids and the level of repairs carried out to buildings.

“I want both and I think it is reasonable in 2014. That said, it’s clear that there will be a big review of future budgets and nothing is off-limits.”

A spokesman for City of Edinburgh Council said: “Mobile devices and tablets are increasingly becoming a part of everyday life and we believe that their use in the learning environment has huge

potential.”

On Friday, Keane’s mother, Abbie, revealed how her daughter had been sent a postcard by teachers praising her school work, which arrived two days after she died.