Skye primary school hosts support day as community ‘still reeling’ after shooting

A primary school in Skye will be hosting a community support day in the aftermath of the shooting.

Almost all primary school children across the Highland Council region will return to school today, but not at Bun-sgoil Shlèite primary school.

Children and members of the community will instead be able to access professionals who are trained in supporting trauma.

The Gaelic school is located in Teangue, where Mr John MacKinnon who was described as a “much-loved member of the community”, was shot dead at his home on Wednesday, August 10.

Finlay MacDonald, 39, was arrested the same day after a series of incidents spanning three different locations up to 34 miles apart.

He has now appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court facing one murder charge and three attempted murder charges.

John Finlayson is the newly appointed chairman of the Highland Council committee and had previously been a headteacher for 30 years.

He has been leading the rebuilding efforts of the small community after the tragedy.

Support for Skye now

Mr Finlayson told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “Obviously the community is still reeling from the events of last week.

“So we thought it was important that today, we had a presence in the school, a presence where the community parents and young people could feel supported.

“We’ve got different professionals attending the school today, we’ve got workshops going on, we’ve got a whole range of support that’s available.

 “We’ve got central officers going in, but we’re also going to have NHS staff and police and psychology staff in the school.

“Whoever in the community wants to come – needs to come along.”

In response to the shocking crimes, members of the Skye and Raasay Area Committee held a two-minute silence during their meeting on Monday.

Local minister Gordon Matheson also launched a Crowdfunder to support Mr MacKinnon’s family which has over £35,000 so far.

Support for Skye in the future

But Mr Finlayson warned that support will need to continue for Skye into the future.

“In rural communities, people come together really strongly, and everyone is there for each other. But quite often, people think they’re coping and then they realise they’re not coping.

“But of course, we don’t really know what kind of support is going to be needed going forward.”

Mr Finlayson says that the council is currently trying to recruit more staff to help support teachers, but due to the housing shortage on the island they need to locate housing for them first.

An unprecedented incident

He added: “It’s unprecedented for everyone, I think for officers, for schools, and for wider communities.”

“Speaking to Police Scotland, they’ve indicated that this is probably the first kind of event of its kind.”

Due to the nature of the crime, local SNP MP Ian Blackford has called for a review of gun control.

However, others have stressed better support and mental health facilities are needed for rural areas.

Meanwhile, former councillor John Gordon has called for funding to be devoted to the island to help residents recover.

A possible Bairns’ Hoose?

One possible supportive measure is the implementation of a Bairns’ Hoose.

Mr Finlayson said: “We’ve also been discussing with the Scottish Government, the creation of what’s called a Bairns’ Hoose.

“This is a new vision that the Scottish Government has with children who are victims, or witness violence or trauma, to have a support on site.”

In the policy outline document, the Scottish Government outlined plans to ensure that all eligible children have access to a Bairns’ Hoose by 2025.

It is based on the Icelandic model “Barnahus” which aims to bring services together in one place.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Bairns’ Hoose services will be designed to give every child victim or witness the right to consistent and holistic support, to access specialist services and to recover from their experiences.

“Scottish Government is in close contact with local partners in the Highlands to help understand what additional support may be needed within the community following the events on Skye last week.”