A special meeting of the Scottish Government's resiliency committee will be held after the shock closure of 17 schools in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh City Council announced on Friday that the schools would be shutting from Monday because the educational partnership in charge of building management and operation could not provide safety assurances.

The closures were announced after remedial works at Oxgangs Primary revealed serious structural issues with the building's walls, prompting fears that all schools built under the same PFI contract could be compromised.

On Saturday education secretary Angela Constance said the Scottish Government would offer its full support to keep disruption to a minimum. Councils across Scotland have been asked to carry out safety check on their own buildings as soon as possible, she added.

Ms Constance said: "The safety of children, young people and staff in our schools is paramount, and I recognise the concern of parents. I am reassured by the prompt action taken by Edinburgh City Council.

"While this is primarily an issue for the council, the First Minister and I have spoken to the council leadership this afternoon and offered the Scottish Government's full support to keep disruption to children's education at an absolute minimum.

"The First Minister will today chair a meeting of the Scottish Government's resilience committee to ensure that everything possible is being done to help.

"It is too early to assess any wider implications for schools in other parts of Scotland. However, Scottish Government officials have written to all local authorities this weekend to ask them to carry out any necessary checks on their own estate as soon as possible."

The affected schools were all built under the same PFI contract, managed by Edinburgh Schools Partnership (ESP), but alarm bells were raised in January when a wall blew off Oxgangs Primary during Storm Gertrude.

Oxgangs and three other schools were closed by the council within a week, but on Friday, contractors carrying out remedial works on the building raised concerns that all 17 schools were at risk, resulting in city-wide closures from Monday onwards.

The ESP has apologised to the council's chief executive.

A spokesperson said: "We are very disappointed by these latest findings and will be working with those responsible for the original design and build of the affected schools to conduct full structural surveys.

"Once we know the results of these surveys, we will be able to determine the scale of the problem, and put plans in place to remedy any and all faults."

Edinburgh City Council leader Andrew Burns said: "Clearly we have every right to expect these schools to have been built to a good standard and in accordance with industry practice.

"We now know this isn't the case. ESP have let the council down but more importantly they have let the children, parents and staff of this city down."

The council said priority would be given to special schools and secondary schools, where students are preparing for exams.

Parents will receive updates via text messages and on the council's website.

The schools closed from Monday are: Braidburn, Broomhouse Primary, Castleview Primary, Craigour Park Primary, Craigmount High, Craigroyston Primary, Drummond Community High, Firrhill High, Forthview Primary, Gracemount High, Oxgangs Primary School, Pirniehill Primary, Rowanfield, Royal High, St David's Primary, St Joseph's Primary and St Peters RC Primary.

The Goodtrees Neighbourhood Centre will also shut.