Essex school told it must close over fears of crumbling concrete
A school in Essex has been forced to close immediately over fears of crumbling concrete - with an MP saying more in his constituency are affected. The Department for Education has issued warnings to around 150 schools in England over the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) which could be unsafe, just days before the new school term was due to start.
RAAC was used in building construction between the mid-1950s and 1990s. A safety warning for RAAC was issued in 2018 after the roof of a Kent school collapsed with no warning on a weekend. Now, Kingsdown School in Eastwood, Southend has been told it must remain closed right before the start of the school term over the presence of the material there.
It means the school is unable to access the "vital equipment" they need to run the school safely and effectively and therefore will be unable to open next week for the new academic year. Staff at Kingsdown School have been phoning parents urgently to inform them of this, Southend City Council has said.
Contingency plans for the school, and others in Essex, are underway to ensure children's learning faces the least amount of disruption possible. Louise Robinson, headteacher of Kingsdown School, said: “Instead of preparing to welcome our students back to class, we’re having to call parents to have very difficult conversations about the fact the school is closed next week.
“We’re hoping that a solution can be found that allows us to open the school, at least partially, but that entirely relies on ensuring the safety of our pupils and staff, and approval by DfE.”
Tony Cox, leader of Southend Council and councillor responsible for special educational needs and disabilities, said: “The main priority is for the safety and wellbeing of the children and staff at Kingsdown School. I appreciate the frustration and dismay of the children and their families that this has only come to light just days before the start of the new academic year following further and updated national DfE advice, but safety is paramount.”
Elsewhere in Essex, St Bernard Jenkin, MP for Harwich and North Essex, told BBC News[2] that eight schools in his constituency are affected by closures because of RAAC. He has been advised that more schools could be affected in his area than any other constituency.
The MP said he was "staggered" by the news and he "had no idea the problem was so widespread and so concentrated in Essex". Essex County Council, the authority responsible for schools in Essex outside of Southend and Thurrock, has said one school will be directly affected by the concrete issue, but declined to name which one.
The council also said around 50 schools (both local authority and academies) in Essex have known RAAC, but due to systems already in place the "majority" of these schools will be able to open as normal, and parents would be contacted directly by their children's school if they are affected.
A spokesman said: "At this stage, we understand that the vast majority of schools in Essex are not affected. We have communicated to all Essex schools and have been working quickly to establish schools affected by this new guidance.
"We are working with affected schools to minimise disruption to pupils and families. Unless informed otherwise by your child’s school, parents should ensure their child attends school as normal when the new term begins. Parents and carers of children at affected schools will be communicated to directly by their child's school with information and updates."
References
- ^ Essex garden centre opens Christmas market in summer because demand is so high (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ told BBC News (www.bbc.co.uk)