Youngsters at some of Bradford's chaos-hit schools were still at home today - even though Portakabin staff worked flat out through the weekend to get portable classrooms finished.

Many heads who had organised extended holidays for the children kept to the arrangements because the classrooms still needed fitting out with desks, cupboards and books.

The crisis blew up last week after a number of schools were unable to fully open because Portakabins had not been completed over the summer holidays.

And today Fran Warden of Springwood Primary School, Wood Street, Bradford, still had to keep 36 children off school because they were not sure about handrails and electricity

The buildings were needed because under the education shake-up some first schools had kept pupils who would otherwise have gone on to middle schools. A number were taking in new pupils.

Mrs Warden said: "I am very disappointed. We were ready to welcome new pupils and now I think it will be Thursday before everyone can come back. We are receiving children from a school which is closing."

At Atlas First School, Lincoln Close, Manningham, 60 pupils who were off are staying at home until Wednesday as arranged. Head Beryl Powell said steps were being set up this morning.

At Eldwick Primary School the Portakabin is finished, but 60 Year Five children will still return to school on Wednesday, as they had been told to do when the problems arose.

The building at Green Lane Primary School, Manningham, has been completed but and children will come back on Thursday.

Complications at Grove House School, Eccleshill with a planning application for a temporary building - which has nothing to do with Portakabin - have resulted in some pupils being taught elsewhere.

One parent who did not want to be named said her daughter spent her lunch break at Grove House then had to walk with her classmates to nearby Hansen School for lessons. She said she had been told the arrangements would go on for three weeks.

The Council's chief executive Ian Stewart was meeting the company today to review the situation.

Portakabin managing director Stephen Price said 50 workers had come in from across the country at the weekend and had done a "heroic" job completing the classrooms.

He said temporary electricity supplies had been put in at most of the classrooms where they could get access and the Council was working with Yorkshire Electricity to make the supply permanent.

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