St Patrick’s heating and water systems were badly affected by the severe weather conditions which have resulted in the school building being closed since December 7. 

The school’s own business continuity plans were activated and thanks to the efforts of local schools and Catholic Church community alternative educational provision was quickly established in nearby facilities to enable continuity of teaching and learning for the pupils. These split site arrangements meant that education provision re-opened for all children on December 14. 

Our local parish of St Alexander’s is accommodating P1-5 pupils in two of their church halls which are directly across the road from the school.

We are also very grateful to three of the schools in the Denny and Banknock area who provided facilities and accommodation within their schools for us and made our pupils and staff feel extremely welcome and helped us settle in.

Mrs Connolly and her staff at Nethermains Primary are providing us with areas for our Nursery and Enhanced Provision; Mr McPherson and his staff at Denny Primary have given us four areas to ensure our P6 & 7 pupils are able to continue their education; and Mrs Dyer and the staff at Bankier Primary have provided teaching space for our infant department at very short notice. 

All of the St Patrick’s staff have worked extremely hard to provide a planned, structured educational experience for all pupils throughout this difficult time, while also trying to offer the usual social experiences found in schools at this time of year. Our Christmas parties continued and our PTA under difficult circumstances still managed to create a beautiful grotto, thus allowing the children to meet Santa as planned. 

Unfortunately we had to cancel our Nativity Play, but to keep the festive Spirit alive and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with the whole school community we will be hosting a Carol Service in St Alexander’s Church on December 22. 

We are very grateful for the support we have received from individuals, organisations, parents, the local community and the various Council Services who have helped us to keep the disruption to a minimum. We will ensure that parents are kept up to date with progress on the re-commissioning work via the Council’s website. 

Anne O’Donnell, Head Teacher, St Patrick’s RC Primary School, Denny