Education officials have admitted they do not know when a fire-hit school will re-open.
A massive asbestos decontamination project will have to take place at Catherine Junior School, in Belgrave, Leicester, following a fire this week.
The school's gym was destroyed in the blaze on Tuesday and the rest of the building was smoke-logged, with harmful asbestos released into the air.
It is now likely the 380 pupils will eventually have to go to other schools in the area for lessons.
The council has also revealed it is paying out up to £13,000 in compensation to parents for children's clothes and shoes lost in the fire.
Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor for children, young people and schools, said: "We are very aware this situation is putting great pressures on families and we are doing all we can to sort this out as quickly as possible, including talking to other schools and education providers in the area. We will finalise arrangements to get children back into school and inform parents as soon as we can next week."
The council said the asbestos contamination was confined to the interior of the building, where the damage of the roof was most severe and part of the structure had collapsed.
A spokesman said: "All pupils and staff were evacuated from the building before there was any danger of asbestos release."
Fire chiefs have reassured members of the public that smoke from the fire, which spread over a large area of Belgrave during the three-hour blaze, did not contain any asbestos.
They said some areas containing the material may have been disturbed during the firefighting operation, which included the demolition of walls to get to the fire. The council said decontamination of the building was "likely to take some weeks".
Because of the release of asbestos, the council's engineers are still waiting to get a full picture of the damage caused.
School bags, coats, PE kits and other items left behind during the evacuation by the 380 children will have to be destroyed because of the asbestos contamination.
Parents will receive £35 for each child to compensate them.
Claire Knight, of Northfields, whose sons Kiran, 11, and Peter, eight, go to the school, contacted the Mercury to complain about the city council's handling of the fire.
She said: "The council told me the school wouldn't be open before Christmas. This is very traumatic for the children and they're also missing out on their education.
"If we kept our children out of school we'd be fined.
"Now they're offering us £35 for each child's things that had to be left behind. Kiran lost his PE kit, football boots, coat, jumper and his Leicester City top. The football kit alone cost £30."
Amanda Saddler, whose children Ella, nine, and Morgan, seven, go to the school, said: "We're very angry. My kids have raincoats they lost in the fire and they cost £75 each, so the £35 won't cover it.
"I don't like the way we weren't contacted about the money or the way we weren't called when the fire happened."
Vaishali Khetia's son, Khush, eight, lost more than £50 worth of clothes and equipment in the fire.
She said: "He lost his coat, his schoolbag and his lunchbox. But mostly we just want him to be able to go back to school – he really misses it."
The blaze was started by workmen fixing the school roof.
