HC Deb 02 March 1976 vol 906 c1088
19. Mr. Edwin Wainwright

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the improvements required at the Jump Primary and Infants' School to bring it up to a reason able standard; and if he will make a statement on the present conditions at this school.

Mr. Mulley

I understand from the Barnsley education authority that the boilers in the old building were recently replaced; work is about to start on moving all toilets indoors; and some minor repairs are also to be undertaken.

Mr. Wainwright

Does my right hon. Friend appreciate the bad conditions that obtain in that school? He has not read out a quarter of the facilities that are below normal standards. Will he do something, in co-operation with the Barnsley Metropolitan District Education Committee, to ensure that reasonable standards are achieved at the school?

Mr. Mulley

I know that my hon. Friend takes a close interest in the schools in his constituency. He will find that as a result of the expenditure I have just indicated there will be an improvement. The infants' premises date from 1968 while the premises occupied by the juniors go back to 1880. I understand that compared with a number of other schools in the authority's area, conditions at this school are by no means the worst. They are not seriously over-crowded, or intolerable. However, I am sure that the improvements now being undertaken will help a great deal.