Independent report published on Maddiston Primary School
Falkirk Council has published an independent Root Cause Analysis (RCA) into the significant construction defects identified at Maddiston Primary School. The report will be considered by elected members at an Executive meeting on 21 May.
The independent review makes clear that serious failures occurred during the original construction of the school in the mid-2000s. These failures involved weaknesses in construction management, quality assurance, design continuity and record-keeping. The report concludes that many of the defects could have been avoided had appropriate diligence and oversight been applied at the time.
The report also addresses an understandable concern for parents and families. It confirms that the defects were concealed within the building’s structure and were not visible through routine, non-intrusive inspections. The school was closed as soon as intrusive investigations revealed the scale of the problem following storm damage in January 2025.
To provide reassurance across the wider school estate, the Council has already carried out inspections at all schools, including intrusive surveys of similar external walls with minor works undertaken where issues were identified. In addition, independent condition surveys have been completed across all schools as part of a corporate approach to managing Council buildings.
The RCA is clear that responsibility for what went wrong rests primarily with Graham Construction who undertook the original construction, and their external advisors. The Council could also have ensured better contract management and supervision of the construction.
The Council closed Maddiston Primary School in February 2025 once the extent of the defects became clear. Parts of the building have since been safely brought back into limited use. The report confirms that the school can be reinstated, subject to significant remedial works, with an estimated cost of around £14 million and a projected completion date of August 2027.
Alongside the findings, the report sets out lessons learned and changes already being taken forward. The Council has changed the way it checks and signs off construction projects. This now includes clearer responsibilities, stronger checks on construction quality, escalation of when things don’t meet standards, set points where designs must be finalised before building starts and independent checks on major projects.
Malcolm Bennie, Director of Place Services said:
This is an important report for the Council in terms of transparency of what went wrong with the original construction of the school, lessons learned, and most importantly reassuring parents and our communities about the safety of our school estate.
“The review highlights that the original construction of Maddiston Primary School around 2007 fell well short of the standards that pupils, parents and the Council should have been able to rely on.
“As soon as these defects were identified, we acted to close the school and we have subsequently checked the rest of the school estate to provide reassurance to families.
“It is essential that we learn everything we can from this situation, and I’m reassured to see that the changes described in this report show the Council has already changed how we manage construction projects, to ensure this does not happen again.
The Council will continue to keep parents, staff and the wider community informed as the reinstatement work progresses.