Primary school closed after 'emergency' message sent to parents

Staff arriving at the school this morning found there was no water to any of the buildings

A school issued an 'emergency message' to parents this morning after it was deemed it was unsafe for children to attend. Northway Primary School on Dodds Lane in Maghull was forced to close today, Tuesday October 15, as the school was left without any water supply after a pipe burst under the front of the building.

According to a statement from Northway's headteacher, Kate McKenzie, United Utilities attended the site in Maghull last night to apply a fix to the burst pipe and assured staff the water would be fine today. However opening the school early this morning, it was found there was no water supply to any of the buildings on the site.

Once aware of the situation, Ms McKenzie sent a message to all parents at 7:19am informing them about the onsite problems, it said: "Emergency message - School will be closed today.

"There is no water to either building due to the pipe burst under the front of school. United Utilities attended site last night and said the water would be fine today but on opening this morning there is none to either building.

"Therefore, it is not safe for children to be in school today." The statement added: "We apologise for the inconvenience and short notice."

The ECHO contacted United Utilities, which confirmed there was a burst pipe at the front of the school last night. However, the ECHO understands the broken pipe is not part of the United Utilities network and is actually a private water supply pipe system. Nonetheless, United Utilities have offered support to the school and will provide guidance to any private contractors working at the site.

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “One of our engineers attended the school last night and found that the leak is on a private pipe that is not part of the United Utilities network. Although we aren’t responsible for carrying out repairs on private networks, our engineer dug down to make the pipe accessible for whoever comes to do that work. We have also got an engineer in the area, and they are visiting the school this morning to give further advice.”

The ECHO also contacted the school for more information and we were told Northway are liaising with Sefton Council to try and find a resolution and that contractors are currently onsite. Ms McKenzie said: "We currently have no water to the school. We hope to have the issue resolved as soon as possible, and we'll keep our parents and carers updated."