Four Barrhead schools have been waiting more than a decade for an inspection, a new report has revealed.

And some primaries in East Renfrewshire haven’t had a check-up by the Scottish Government watchdog since 2007.

This has led to calls for school inspections, which were halted two years ago due to the Covid pandemic, to be restarted.

They are normally carried out to ensure schools are maintaining high educational standards for pupils.

According to figures released under a Freedom of Information request, Barrhead High and St Luke’s High were last inspected in 2008, while Cross Arthurlie Primary hasn’t been checked since 2009.

Neilston Primary, Crookfur Primary, in Newton Mearns, and Braidbar Primary, in Giffnock, have waited even longer for a visit, having had their last examination in 2007.

St Thomas Primary, in Neilston, hasn’t been visited since 2010, while both Carlibar Primary and Uplawmoor Primary were last inspected in 2011.

The most recent East Renfrewshire school to be inspected was St John’s Primary, which was visited in November 2019.

Scottish Conservative MSP Oliver Mundell, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, said the length of time some schools have waited for a visit will be “deeply concerning” for parents, pupils and teachers.

He told the Barrhead News: “We need a rigorous, reliable and, above all, regular inspections system so that parents are aware of how their child’s school is performing and schools know what they need to do to improve what they are offering pupils.

“We also need the inspections programme to restart urgently, to get on top of this growing backlog, and an independent inspectorate to carry out school assessments to ensure transparency and trust in the process.”

School inspections are the responsibility of Education Scotland, an arm of the Scottish Government.

It aims to carry out 250 across the country each year but failed to meet this target in 2018 or 2020.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Inspections are not the only method of scrutiny – schools and local authorities also have responsibility for evaluating performance.

“In March, the education secretary announced a new and independent inspectorate body will be created. It will develop new inspection models and help to assess the overall performance of Scottish education.”

East Renfrewshire Council declined to comment.