CHANGES have been made at a Barton school after children returned to classes with construction work still ongoing in their playground.

Bayards Hill Primary School is having extensive building work done on-site, which staff and Oxfordshire County Council insist is safe.

But concerns were raised about the safety of its £5.2m refurbishment in the playground, in Waynflete Road.

Acting headteacher Sylvia Hawken said that parents were yesterday due to be going on a tour of the site and that changes have been made to make the works safer, adding: “The site is safe for pupils to use, but we have listened to the parents and made some improvements, such as higher fencing at the back of classrooms where there is an exit gate. I hope this helps.

“I met with concerned parents with the contractors and listened to their views and agreed to take parents on a full tour of the school yesterday again with members from the construction team.”

The work, taking place around newly completed classrooms, is to build office space and the school’s kitchen. The building work is fenced off using temporary wire panels, which can be moved to let construction staff in and out.

Last week the Oxford Mail reported that parents were pulling children out of lessons because of the work, but the school at the time said they were not aware of this.

Ms Hawken added: “I now know that there were a small number of parents who did not send their children to school last week, however these children are now in school.

“No one has told me they are taking their children out of school as a result of the building works.

“In fact, I have had many parents thanking me for opening and getting their education started.”

Safia Baker, 44, from Barton, was one of the parents on the tour and said: “It’s perfectly safe. For the first time I went into that school and all of the children were sat in their classrooms in a nice learning environment.

“People who complain haven’t given the head a chance to explain or come to ask questions. They just took one look and started ranting.”

Mrs Baker’s son, Usman, 10, has just started Year Six. She added: “He came home the other day and said ‘I love school,’ he’s never said that before.”

But Hayley Davies, who has a son at the school, said that she did not think the area had been made any safer.

The 45-year-old, from Headington, said: “I’m fed up with the attitude and lack of communication.

“It’s like banging your head against a brick wall. How anyone can deem that safe I don’t know. It’s no different from last week.

“There have been no apologies or explanations about the state of the school. I’m so angry about it, it’s ridiculous.

“I don’t know how Ms Hawken can say parents are happy, because a huge number are not.”

Her son Jonas, 10, did not go to classes for two days because of the work and now Ms Davies says she is considering removing him from the school altogether.

She added: “Jonas decided to go back to school because he was bored at home.

“I’m actually thinking about changing his school completely.

“I’ve still not had any phone call about why he wasn’t in school for two days.”

Tim Brighouse, joint chairman of governors at the school, said: “I was absolutely satisfied that the school was safe for children. Otherwise we wouldn’t have opened.

“Thanks to the brilliant efforts of our staff, the head and her team have ensured that children’s learning has got off to a good start despite the dust and disruption that inevitably happens when you have builders on site.

“A day off school at Bayards Hill could be a day of vital learning lost, so we hope that parents will work with us in building a better future for their children.”

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