Staff wages unpaid as Scots private school closes a day early

Teachers at a private school in South Lanarkshire which closed last week have been told there is no money left for their redundancy pay or remaining wages.

Fernhill School in Rutherglen was due to close last Friday, with a fun day organised for pupils to say goodbye to their friends.

But the provisional liquidator announced on Thursday that the closure would be brought forward 24 hours, sparking "mass hysteria", according to one parent.

They said teachers were openly upset and there were chaotic scenes as parents tried to stop staff appointed by accountancy firm WBG from removing items.

The school announced in February that it would close at the end of the school term, after a charity regulator raised "misconduct" concerns over how it had been run.

One parent told BBC Scotland News: "We got a message that simply said not to bring children to the school as the fun day was now cancelled – that was all we were told.

"Having it pulled from underneath the young ones was pretty traumatic as they did not understand what was happening.

"Later we were told by teachers that they had found out they wouldn't get paid and redundancy will need to go through the government insolvency scheme, which could take months and means they will not get what they were originally entitled to."

One pupil said agents for the liquidator had quickly started removing valuable items from the building.

She claimed that teachers were kept in the office and were visibly upset by the latest turn of events.

"Teachers were completely distraught. They were standing outside crying. It was completely ridiculous," she said.

Provisional liquidator Donald McKinnon said the decision to close abruptly was based on safety concerns for children and their families.

A parent, who asked not to be named, said: "For them to say it was being based on the welfare of pupils and staff – it was far from that, because it was mass hysteria.

"Staff were finding out they do not have a wage coming in and staff were finding out they do not have the lump sum due to them coming in now.

"It was horrible, and you literally had bouncy castles and balloons all blown up in the background as this was going in."

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) previously said Fernhill - a Catholic institute with primary and secondary pupils - had not submitted accounts to the watchdog in several years.

The school opened in 1972 after a group of parents raised funds to keep a primary school operated by the Sisters of Notre Dame open, and charged up to £20,000 a year for pupils.

One angry parent messaged BBC Scotland News and questioned where all their money has gone in recent years.

WBG said the school's two directors - Giuseppe 'Sep' Marini and David Equi - decided to close Fernhill due to "rising costs and VAT on school fees", as well as what the company described as "many challenges".

McKinnon was appointed after Marini and Equi petitioned the court for his appointment.

He said the initial decision to cancel the fun day was made Equi and a number of teachers, and he agreed with it.

"My priorities on that day were dealing with teachers and any children still on site," he added.

"It was a highly charged day with emotions running high where a number of the fun day items had not even been paid for by the business."

McKinnon said his insurance did not cover the event.

And he added: "At the time of my appointment the business had insufficient monies in the bank to pay any staff wages."

The EIS teaching union said it was "deeply disappointed" at how its members have been treated and is now investigating its options.

Amy Moran, EIS area officer, said: "The closure of the school, set for 19 June, was only communicated to teachers after pupils and families had already been informed.

"After many unanswered questions and requests for information, it became clear in May that the school intended to make teachers redundant rather than to redeploy them in an integrated school."

She claimed teachers had been led to believe they were part of a "pathway to integration between St Aloysius College [a private school in Glasgow] and Fernhill School", including "retention of Fernhill staff as far as possible".

Moran added: "Up until Monday 15 June, the school continued to insist that it was still in the financial position to pay teachers' redundancy packages in full.

"But just three days later, liquidators announced that the school could not pay teachers anything at all.

"It remains unclear how long the school has been aware that it would not be in the financial position to pay teachers' redundancy packages."

Fernhill School has been contacted for comment.