'Teething troubles' at Leyland pupil referral unit see the primary school closed twice in two weeks

Golden Hill Short Stay School has had to close its doors to pupils twice in the last two weeks over issues with its new systems and facilities.

The school off Earnshaw Drive moved in to its new school building between Thursday, May 23 and Thursday, June 6 after South Ribble Council gave it the thumbs up to demolish its old building and construct a new one in January 2018.

But the school had had "no other option" but to shut to everyone at short notice on Thursday, June 5 and Friday, June 6, and then again on Tuesday, June 11, to guarantee its pupils' safety.

Allison Collinge, head teacher at Golden Hill Short Stay School, said: "This is a fantastic new building which will greatly improve the learning experience for our pupils.

"However, there have been some teething troubles with some of the new systems and facilities.

"The safety of our pupils is our priority and we had no option but to close the school without notice on two occasions over the last two weeks.

"We're sorry for any inconvenience this has caused."

Mrs Collinge added that the school is "working closely" with the Department for Education, which are managing the building, to resolve the issues as quickly as possible with "minimal disruption to children's education".

The school is a primary pupil referral unit (PRU) serving South Ribble, Chorley, Preston and West Lancashire - 206 primary schools in total - and provides full time education for children aged four to 11.

PRUs are schools that cater for children who aren't able to attend a mainstream school; often referred there if they need greater care and support than their school can provide.

The school was also asked about claims that one of the shut downs was over reports of one pupil leaving the school without authorisation. So far the school has not commented on this particular matter.