Building defects and flaws have been uncovered in all 17 schools in Edinburgh closed for safety reasons earlier this month and some could remain closed until the summer, the council has revealed.

It has also emerged that the buildings not inspected by the city council before they were deemed safe.

City of Edinburgh Council leader, Andrews Burns, said the local authority had “undertaken all its legal responsibilities” and the schools had met “all the relevant building standards”.

He warned that some of the buildings may remain closed until PPP contractor Edinburgh Schools Partnership (ESP) could assure the council that they were safe and this could be after the summer holidays.

Andrews Burns said: “Edinburgh Schools Partnership (ESP) and its agents self-certified to the council, as they were entitled to do so, that the buildings complied with all the relevant building standards.”

He added: “Yesterday evening the council received early indications that suggest evidence of faults across all 17 affected schools to a varying extent.

“At the moment it is too early to say what the impact will be as full survey results from Edinburgh Schools Partnership have not yet been received. Some faults may be easy to fix and may not present a major problem while others could be longer term.

“What is certain is that we won’t take risks with the safety of our schools children and schools won’t reopen until Edinburgh Schools Partnership can assure us of their safety. As part of the contract, Edinburgh Schools Partnership own, maintain and assure the safety of the affected buildings.

“We will publish further information on individual school surveys when these are formally received and of course provide an update to parents on their individual schools and the remediation works required.”

The City of Edinburgh Council ordered the closure of 17 schools last Friday after the private consortium behind the construction and maintenance of the schools, the Edinburgh Schools Partnership (ESP), admitted that it cannot guarantee the safety the buildings.