MLA condemns vandalism carried out on Derry Waterside Primary School
A Derry MLA has branded vandalism in Sacred Heart Primary School “disgraceful” after the school was reportedly ransacked.
It was reported to police on Sunday, December 8, shortly before 5.20am, that a classroom had been ransacked and toys and paperwork had been thrown around the classroom.
A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesperson said that significant damage was also caused to a memorial garden on the grounds of the school. It's believed this may have occurred sometime between 4.45am and 5.20am on Sunday.
SDLP MLA Sinead McLaughlin said: “It’s absolutely disgraceful that Sacred Heart Primary School has been repeatedly targeted in this way. This school and its staff do fantastic work and have a hard-earned reputation as a great place for children to learn and develop.
“At a time when school budgets are under extreme pressure the last thing they need is to deal with incidents like this. This will have been upsetting for the entire school community and no child should be going into school on a Monday morning knowing their school has been attacked.
“I also cannot understand the mindset of anyone who would damage a school’s memorial garden, this is disgusting and shows a complete lack of empathy for everyone connected with Sacred Heart. I would urge those behind these attacks to think about the impact they are having on the school and cease this at once. I would also appeal to anyone with any information to come forward to the police so we can stop these senseless attacks.”