Glenvale School The Entrance: Mould, plumbing and building issues spark outrage
An infestation of rats to mould coming through classroom walls are among the reasons why there is a sense children at this special needs school on the Central Coast are ‘the forgotten students’. But a ‘band-aid’ solution has only led to more outrage.
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Leaking walls, rats, mould and plumbing problems have been plaguing Glenvale School at The Entrance, according to the Public Service Association (PSA).
The school has been battling for more than 12 months with students often using staff toilets; shower facilities out of action and mould coming through the classroom walls.
The Department of Education has committed $1.7 million to a staged upgrade at the school, however the recent arrival of second-hand demountables has raised questions as to why the state’s second largest special school is receiving run-down infrastructure.
In October 2018 the Public Service Association (PSA) was made aware of the ongoing issues and have been calling on the Department of Education to take action.
A spokesman from the Department said the $1.7 million in improvements to Glenvale School was being carried out between 2018 – 2021.
“The upgrade has been staged to ensure that works do not impact students and staff,” he told the Express.
“The department is aware some parents have concerns about the condition of the school’s facilities and it is continuing to maintain and upgrade the school.”
Today the school looks like a construction zone and the PSA has described some of the works as “bandaiding a haemorrhage”.
“It’s like they are the forgotten students,” PSA schools organiser Ann Attwater said.
“As soon as I was notified of the problems we called in SafeWork. There was mould and leaking roofs in classrooms that were being used. Some areas have been fixed but the rest has ground to a halt.
“They have had huge plumbing issues. At some point students were not able to access their own toilets and had to use staff toilets.
“One demountable, which was rat infested, is still on the site and has just been moved out of the way. This school is for highly disabled children with complex needs. The principal and director are doing everything they can to cope through this situation.”
Two weeks ago, two demountable classrooms were delivered to the school. However, it is not the new infrastructure the school was hoping for. The demountables are obviously used and look old and damaged.
“There are plans to re-clad and refurbish them,” Ms Attwater said.
“Is this the best we can do in public education? How can some schools have brand new facilities and these kids with highly sensitive needs get this? There is a great opportunity here to have a purpose built facility rather than second-hand infrastructure.”
Public Service Association’s assistant general secretary Troy Wright said the school had “some of the most vulnerable kids in the state”.
“The condition of these second, third, even fourth-hand, demountables wouldn’t be appropriate for north shore children, it’s definitely not appropriate for children with such complex needs,” he said.
“These schools has been crying out for proper buildings. But they are constantly given bandaid after bandaid. It’s not right. No child should be sitting in a rotten demountable. The working conditions at the school are the learning conditions for the students.”
The Department spokesman said a building was currently being reconstructed on site to provide two classrooms, four offices, staffroom, kitchen, as well as toilet, shower and change areas.
“External work on this building includes a new roof, new external cladding, new ramp, new rear deck, stairs and balustrades,” he said.
“The building will be complete for the start of term 2, replacing the demountable currently on site. The school will also benefit from a new covered outdoor learning area, shade structure and improvements to pavement and landscaping.”
He said additional works that continue on site include widening of doorways and upgrades to toilet and shower rooms in Block G, which is due to be completed by Day 1 Term 1 2020.
“The roof was replaced on block G over the Christmas 2018/19 holidays,” he said.
“Plumbing issues have been attended to and fixed. An area in the library has been previously tested for mould, remediated and a clearance certificate was issued.
“Testing has continued and there are plans for further remediation in the coming school holidays. The department has not been informed of any concerns about vermin.”
Central Coast P and C President Sharryn Brownlee said there were a number of schools on the coast that were getting left behind with the maintenance backlog.
“How does it get to that point?” she said.
“This government has an $18 billion annual budget. It’s inconceivable that a school can get to that condition. We shouldn’t be taking the dregs of demountables.”
“While we can see there are positive things happening, there are still schools at the poorest level that are yet to see changes.”