Education authorities failed to prioritise roofing scheme leaving staff and pupils ‘squashed’ into ‘substandard accommodation’
The Department of Education’s (DE’s) own internal emails acknowledge that children at St Eugene’s Primary School are learning in “substandard conditions”.
Supporting metal jacks, which can be seen outside and inside the school, are visible signs of the fears that exist over the building’s structural integrity.
Past pupils include former deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, veteran civil rights activist Eamonn McCann and BBC broadcaster Gerry Anderson.
Information gathered under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act shows that DUP minister Paul Givan was politely asked to visit the school but declined.
Mr Givan previously turned down another invitation to St Brigid’s in Derry after the school had been promised funding for a new build in 2022 — but DE decided to pause those plans last year.
St Eugene’s PS previously operated from two sites on opposite sides of Francis Street.
St. Eugene’s Primary School comprises two buildings on opposite sides of Derry’s Francis Street (Credit: Martin McKeown)
However, due to an engineer’s “serious concerns” about the structural integrity of the junior school roof, it was closed.
The school is now operating from a single site, with a temporary hut in place.
Private communications show that two Specialist Provision in Mainstream (SPIM) classes had to be combined due to an “accommodation shortage”.
From April 2015 to August 2017, St Eugene’s alerted the Department of Education about roof problems on five occasions.
In 2017, the school applied for a roofing scheme, but it was not prioritised by the department.
Between 2018-24 at least a dozen more roof-related issues were raised until the junior building had to completely close.
Following inspections last October and November, pupils were moved into a hut on the senior school site across the road.
The structural engineer’s report mentions rot and decay throughout.
Decayed timbers from the structural engineer’s report show that the structural integrity of the roof is compromised
It also said water ingress had “saturated” solid wall structures.
Now, private emails show that at that time a warning was issued to Mr Givan that the “emergency closure” may “hit the media”.
At that stage, it was claimed it would be a temporary measure.
It concluded by saying the principal was “content” she was “well supported” at the time, and “there appears to have been no media coverage to date”.
The minister’s Special Advisor passed this message on to him and Mr Givan responded: “Good work. Noted.”
In November 2024, remedial roof upgrades were said to be “extensive” and estimated to cost £700k-£800k.
Supporting metal jacks at St. Eugene’ Primary School in Derry (Credit: Martin McKeown)
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Having turned down the roofing application in 2017, EA was then forced to initiate an unavoidable capital works application for a “remedial roof upgrade”.
A follow-up report identified additional issues, with a belief from EA that works would “exceed initial expectations” and take “a significant period to complete”.
One email from June 2025 states: “Could you ask if they could possibly prioritise this one as much as possible, please, as the school is currently operating in substandard conditions on one site, which the Principal reports is having a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of pupils and staff?”
In that same email chain, it also notes rising costs, saying: “As envisioned, the costs of all options are significant with the preferred option being fully costed at nearly…”
The rest of the email outlining costs has been redacted by the department.
Another on June 25 adds: “This is a significant roofing scheme due to structural damage that has led to the building being vacated.
“As the building is now out of use, the school has effectively lost five classrooms and several administrative/ancillary spaces.
“There has been a great deal of correspondence regarding these issues and the substandard accommodation is reported to be putting significant strain on staff and pupils, impacting their health and wellbeing.”
St. Eugene’ Primary School in Derry (Credit: Martin McKeown)
Estate Operations were said to consider this scheme “urgent” and they were “eager” to get approvals in place as soon as possible.
An individual, whose name was redacted, sent an invite to the minister in May 2025 pleading that “if you could take time to come to the school and see what (is) happening, the staff and children are now in one building, all squashed in, making things very difficult”.
On June 4, advice for the minister from the Estate Operations Team told him that accepting this invitation would “acknowledge the efforts made by the school to operate in a constrained environment while remedial works to the roof of the junior school building are planned and delivered”.
On June 5, a letter from Mr Givan to St Eugene’s said, “unfortunately, on this occasion I am unable to schedule a visit”.
He added that he understands it has been a very challenging time for the school community.
“I am very grateful to everyone for the actions taken to reconfigure the site and enable the school to re-open swiftly after the essential closure of the junior school building,” Mr Givan said.
He concluded by pointing out that a business case for roofing works was at an advanced stage.
The department refused to say why the minister would not visit the school and would not provide any statement.
It previously said a business case has been developed for the unavoidable remedial roof upgrade works and it is anticipated that work will begin in the 2025/26 financial year.
