Mindless vandals have destroyed an outdoor classroom space at an Airdrie primary school by setting light to wooden play furniture, smashing bottles and leaving litter and grafitti across the area.
Disappointed pupils at St Andrew’s Primary in Burnfoot have been unable to use the facility at any time during this academic year after “repeated” incidents which have made the woodland space unsafe for their much-loved lessons ranging from animal identification to den building.
They are now making posters asking for the community’s support in helping to monitor and look after the public space; while parents and friends will be taking part in a litter pick this Friday afternoon as they bid to bring the area back into use.
Anum Qaisar, the Airdrie MP, said she was “shocked” to discover what had happened to the play area – outside the school grounds in a public area known locally as The Moss – and is working to generate funding for its repairs, while North Lanarkshire Council education convener Angela Campbell called the vandalism incidents “sickening”.
The valued outdoor resource area can accommodate an entire class group and includes a wooden table with benches tree-stump seating, chalkboards, an area with materials for den-building and is close to a nearby stream which can also be incorporated into the outdoor lessons.
It officially opened in 2020 after two years of campaigning and project work by staff and senior pupils – but has been out of bounds to youngsters since the summer due to the repeated fire-setting and vandalism which has destroyed the wooden structures and made them unsafe with exposed nails and edges.
St Andrew’s head teacher Jennifer Flanagan told Lanarkshire Live: “Our outdoor classroom is a community resource and it supports outdoor learning and mental health – pupils totally love using it for all sorts of lessons as the opportunities are endless, and it’s been used for the nursery, storytelling by Airdrie library and community learning and parent partnership sessions.
“For the past six months it’s been beset by vandalism and firelighting; the table and seating have been destroyed and there are often smashed bottles on the ground. It’s so disappointing and everyone is disgusted about it.”
Council officials are set to cut back some of the tree branches secluding the area to improve its visibility on CCTV; and the community is showing their support by getting involved with Friday’s clean-up as school staff aim to have the area back in operation before the end of term.
Jennifer added: “The children are designing posters asking people to look out for the area and to contact police if they see anything happening.
“We’re hoping to have as many people at our litter pick as possible; I’m hoping to be able to have a Christmas carol service at the outdoor classroom to relaunch it.”
Ms Qaisar said of the damage: “The pupils took me to the outdoor area to show me the damage that had occurred, and it was clear that they were very upset at the vandalism to their playground.
“We must take a zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour, especially when it is a learning area that has been targeted
“I am continuing to coordinate a response alongside the Police, North Lanarkshire Council and St Andrew’s Primary to ensure that the matter is investigated and taken seriously. Working alongside the third parties, we are trying make the area as safe as possible to make sure that this does not happen again.
“I have been working to secure funding so the existing playground can be repaired and it’s is my hope that the pupils at St Andrew’s Primary will have a safe play area to use again.”
Councillor Campbell added that there have been “a number of incidents at the community outdoor space recently”, with a number of reports being made to police in the past year.
She said: “It’s pretty sickening when you think how much this means to children and families in the area; and we’re grateful to everyone taking part in the clean-up.
“We are taking measures to try and make the area more secure in order to stop this repeat behaviour and would hope that anyone with information would contact the police.”
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