Lego, books and staff possessions ‘dumped in landfill’ as closed primary school ‘gutted’

A ‘gutted’ St Dominic’s classroom days after closure. Photograph: Carly Slingsby

Staff and parents from a Hackney primary have slammed their local council after numerous belongings and supplies were reportedly ordered to be sent to landfill days after their school was shut for good.

Ahead of the end of term on 18 July, teachers from St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School had labelled all books, IT equipment, furniture, and other items they planned to collect the following week, only to discover after the weekend that Town Hall removal teams were already “gutting” the school with no warning, they claimed.

Year 3 teacher Carly Slingsby told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) her items worth up to £1,000 were either binned or damaged in the clear-out.

These included Lego sets used to teach pupils coding, a portable basketball hoop and stand “bent and left unboxed in the rain” and a green screen kit worth £200 with its lightbulbs “smashed to pieces”.

She said council removal teams informed her on site that the mounting boxes stacked with supplies were due to be sent to landfill.

St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School closed this year after pupil numbers dropped. Photograph: Google

“All we were told was that we had to gather and label our things. Our school leadership didn’t even know stuff was going to be removed, we’d had no emails, communications or anything,” Ms Slingsby said.

“This is theft. If it was pencils and paper, fine, but I worked hard to buy these things for my school because I knew it couldn’t afford them.”

Parent and PTA member Olu Seun said she and her daughter had lost personal items – including a school bag and workbooks – which were stored in a PTA room locker. She said the last few weeks leading up to the closure had been “very emotional”.

“They should have respected our feelings,” she said.

School staff say removals teams told them stacks of boxes were set for landfill. Photograph: Carly Slingsby

According to Hackney Council, school staff were instructed to collect belongings by Monday 21 July, with this deadline extended first to Wednesday 23 July and then midday the following day.

The Town Hall told the Local Democracy Reporting Service only those items which were too old, damaged or unsuitable for re-use were taken to Millfields recycling centre as a last resort. The council added that it had apologised and offered to reimburse school staff.

But Ms Slingsby maintains there was no such warning, and that items she and others had rescued – including dolls’ houses, books and paints, were “completely usable” and had been donated to other organisations like Hackney Children and Baby Bank.

Local parent and Green party activist, Laura-Louise Fairley, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she saved “4,000 books and several boxes of art materials, stationery, and toys” otherwise destined for the tip.

Local parent and Green Party activist Laura-Louise Fairley says she saved thousands of books otherwise destined for landfill. Photograph: Laura-Louise Fairley

Responding to criticism over the school’s “sudden gutting” at a recent council meeting, Hackney’s mayor Caroline Woodley said the incident arose after a “miscommunication”, and that the clearance was stopped on the Monday as soon as the Town Hall was alerted.

In an email seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the borough’s education chief, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, said the actual date that removals would begin “should have been made clearer”.

Ms Slingsby said: “It’s shocking. I can’t describe how distressing this whole process has been. In September, the council talked about learning lessons from last year. I don’t understand why there’s been such a lack of sympathy.”

In April, the council confirmed it would shut St Dominic’s along with three other primaries in the borough after a fall in pupil numbers. The decision followed four other school closures last summer, for which the council has now fleshed out its plans for repurposing the vacant buildings.

It has invited organisations to submit ideas on how to use the former Colvestone School for community benefit.

The council has also suggested turning Baden Powell Primary School into a new special school, while Randal Cremer and De Beauvoir schools have been mooted for use as temporary accommodation sites.

Mayor Woodley has acknowledged the closures have been “incredibly tough” for pupils, families, school staff and their wider communities.