Two rooms at school are out of bounds - principal

Emma Quinn said toilets in the school were "wholly unfit for purpose"

"Two rooms are out of bounds, and the toilets are wholly unfit for purpose."

Emma Quinn is the principal of Rathcoole Primary School in County Antrim, which needs urgent maintenance.

According to Northern Ireland's spending watchdog, her school is just one of many needing "significant repair".

The Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) said schools were "deteriorating" and the Department of Education was "firefighting" to keep schools open.

Many schools need "significant repair and upgrade to meet modern standards of safety, accessibility, and functionality", the NIAO said.

That is one of the conclusions of their new report on the state of school buildings in Northern Ireland.

'Dismantle the sink'

The principal said work was needed both inside and outside

For Ms Quinn, that verdict hits home.

"The windows continue to be a sore point," she told BBC News NI.

"Two rooms are out of bounds.

"The one plumber in the north eastern area arrived last week to dismantle the sink, following safety concerns.

"The toilets are wholly unfit for purpose, with cracks, broken toilets, and old drainage."

And it is not just the inside of the school which needs work.

"We have been requesting important traffic management work, but this has been put on hold again, despite severe congestion and danger at drop-off and collection time," Ms Quinn added.

Damp, mould and mice

The NIAO said it could take more than 30 years and more than £3bn to build all the new schools that have been planned in Northern Ireland.

Some other school heads have recently raised alarm about the state of their buildings.

That means that some children are learning in schools affected by issues like damp, mould, and mouse infestations.

There are about 1,100 schools in Northern Ireland in which there are 350,000 pupils.

The NIAO has criticised the Department of Education (DE) for lacking "complete, accurate, timely, and accessible information" on the state of schools.

"The department cannot determine the proportion of the estate that is unsuitable for the delivery of education," it said.

The NIAO's detailed report also said it could take between six and 10 years for major works on a school to be carried out.

The principal of Rathcoole Primary School said the current maintenance system was not working

School maintenance costs

Meanwhile, to carry out all the maintenance needed by schools like Rathcoole would cost £450m, but the department has "no long-term maintenance plan", according to the NIAO.

Schools have asked for more than 6,000 maintenance repairs and upgrades to help disabled pupils since 2017, but only 550 of those have been addressed.

Only "unavoidable" minor and maintenance works are being carried out.

The department told the watchdog that was down to constraints on its budget.

The spending watchdog also said the department's approach to school buildings was "reactive" rather than strategic.

"Without effective estate management, the quality of buildings is deteriorating, and the lifespan of school buildings, even new buildings, will be considerably reduced," the NIAO report said.

The education minister said there had been historic underinvestment in the schools’ estate

The NIAO also said that of 72 major school building projects approved by the department in 2017, none had yet been completed.

Those delays have affected about 35,000 pupils in the 72 schools waiting for major building work.

The NIAO also highlighted problems with funding for new school buildings promised in the Fresh Start Agreement in 2015.

About £150m was subsequently put into a general pot of money for the Northern Ireland Executive to use rather than earmarked specifically for schools.

That means 10 schools waiting on that money do not know exactly when they will get new buildings.

The NIAO has made a number of recommendations, including more regular surveys of the condition of school buildings and an effective plan for school maintenance.

But while Emma Quinn said individual maintenance staff at the Education Authority had been supportive, the system had to change.

"We need a clear, transparent, and easily accessible maintenance system that supports all schools," she said.

"One that is fit for purpose, affordable, and reliable."

Underinvestment in schools

Despite the fact that it was critical of the department, Education Minister Paul Givan welcomed the report.

"There has been historic underinvestment in the schools’ estate,” he said.

“We are now facing a twin crisis of an ageing schools’ estate and requiring large numbers of additional specialist places for rapidly increasing numbers of children with special educational needs.

"Children across Northern Ireland have the right to be educated in schools which are comfortable and safe, are of good quality, and are properly designed and resourced to support their learning.

“This will require a significant step change in the level of capital investment by the Northern Ireland Executive."