An Essex primary school has been forced to close its building for some pupils due to “issues” identified with its roof. Springfield Primary School in Chelmsford described the situation as “ever-changing” and the news came as a “total shock” to them.

Parents of year five children at the school in Forsynthia Close were contacted last week to report that their children would not be able to physically attend the school building due to issues identified in the roof following a government inspection. The roof has reportedly been “condemned” and told improvements must be made.

In a newsletter shared, the school’s headteacher Jacquelyn Pick said the issues had been identified in the junior half of the school. In a Tweet the day before on Thursday, the school said it would be closed to children in years three, four and six.

In the newsletter, Ms Pick said: “

As you are aware, we have ‘issues’ with the roof in the junior half of our school. These issues are due to the concrete in the roof which was built in the 1970s and is the same as many schools and hospitals have had to deal with.

“Could I ask parents to keep an eye on emails please as we are dealing with an ever-changing situation. The news came as a total shock to us yesterday and we are having to make plans and decisions at an alarming rate.

“I am in constant contact with the Department for Education and Essex County Council as to possible solutions as this is a long-term closure and as soon as I know plans for next week, I will let parents know. I am so sorry for all the disruption this will cause families but the decision to close to some children was totally out of my hands. Please be assured I will do everything to keep our children safe.”

In an email to parents sent out last week, seen by EssexLive, the school said it had put a contingency plan in place for this week, but it was “not possible” to have formed a plan for the weeks following this.

Eight new classrooms have been added to a Bedfordshire school to accommodate more youngsters from a growing community in the next term.

Further facilities, including a rest area and multi-use hall, have been included in the two-storey extension to Wixams Tree Primary School.

Improved outdoor playground areas, new green and creative areas, as well as a reconfigured nursery, rest areas and a multi-use hall have also been established on the site by Hertfordshire-based construction company Willmott Dixon.

Ross Taylor, senior operations manager at Wilmott Dixon, said:

“We have a long-running relationship with the school and Bedford Borough Council. We built Wixams Tree Primary School and Wixams Academy in 2012, so we were delighted to be back building more fantastic facilities in this growing community.”

Throughout the months spent on site, the Willmott Dixon team supported the community, contributing £1.3m in social value, from time spent in staff hours working with young people, having local staff on the project and focusing on a supply chain within a small radius of the site.

Natalie Sidey, social value manager at Wilmott Dixon, said:

“It’s not just about the bricks and mortar for Willmott Dixon. Being able to add value to the community is important for us.

“Social value is at the heart of what we do which is one of the reasons we spend so much time going into schools to support the students.”

Leading independent property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard was also on board the project, delivering project management, quantity surveying, NEC supervision, and health and safety services.

Sean Conneely, director at Pick Everard, said:

“Wixams Tree Primary School has taken a measured approach to increasing the number of available school places within a growing community, while adding value to its offering at the same time.

“Providing our expertise in management services throughout the project has helped ensure that the school’s vision has become a reality and there will be high-quality new facilities for the young people of Bedford to learn and grow.”

During the project, Willmott Dixon colleagues helped more than a hundred students at three different schools, including Wixams Tree Primary and Academy, Bedford College and Parkfields School, to learn about employability skills, by arranging workshops, assemblies and working with them in the classroom.

The company has also created strong links with Grange Academy, Kempston, and Grey’s Education Centre, Kempston, and will continue to mentor young people during future projects. Willmott Dixon has also established a partnership with Bedford College’s construction team, to create opportunities for students to engage with its supply chain partners from September.

Three primaries have closed in the past 10 days following the discovery of “crumbly” reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) as news emerged that a school building with the same problem has been shut for months.

The Department for Education told the four schools, which are spread across Essex, Tyne and Wear and Newcastle, to shut after finding RAAC in their ceilings.

The potentially dangerous material has been dubbed “Aero-like” by structural engineers amid fears it is “now life-expired and liable to collapse”.

Government officials have been asking responsible bodies – trusts and councils – to complete surveys on the presence of RAAC on their sites since last March.

Now it has emerged that pupils have had to attend lessons remotely or on alternative sites, with reports expected to increase “by the week”.

Labour shadow minister Stephen Morgan branded the “dangerous state of school buildings” a “national disgrace”.

He said:

“It is the direct result of 13 years of Conservative disregard for teachers, parents and pupils.

“The government’s complacency on this is inexcusable given the scale of the problem, with stories of crumbling school buildings that pose a risk to life increasing by the week.”

Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson urged ministers to “invest to clear the backlog of school and college repairs”.

School rents space from neighbour

Mistley Norman C of E primary in Essex has been renting space from an alternative school and providing transport for the six-mile-round trip “to ensure learning for our pupils can continue” since April.

Emma Wigmore, the CEO of Vine Schools Trust which runs the school, said the repair bill could total £1.9 million. The trust does not have “necessary funds to pay for the extensive repair work required for the school building to remain in use”, she added.

They are “exploring funding streams with the Department for Education to see if there is a possibility of covering the repair costs”.

RAAC was found in the ceiling of the school’s main building. Some parts of the school will be habitable in September, but the trust “will rent as much classroom space as we can from local schools to accommodate remaining pupils”.

Last Wednesday, Hockley Primary School in Essex was told to “stay closed next week and for the rest of the school year” by the DfE. It was deemed “not safe to open”.

Academies Enterprise Trust, which runs the school, said youngsters will move to remote learning before attending class at two of the chain’s other schools nearby.

A spokesperson said they were in discussions with the DfE about the “nature of the works and plans for September”.

Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, which runs two affected schools in the North-East,  said the buildings “are closed while we review our options for long-term remediation”.

A spokesperson added that children “will have remote learning and, in the coming week, we will organise alternative arrangements” to return to the classroom.

DfE pledges ‘additional support’ where needed

The DfE pointed to its three capital funding streams: the school rebuilding programme, condition improvement funding and urgent capital support.

However, where the government “is alerted to significant safety issues with a building that cannot be managed within local resources, the department will provide additional support on a case-by-case basis”, the spokesperson said.

Where the presence of RAAC is confirmed, the DfE supports schools “on the advice of structural engineers”, which can include “capital funding for measures”, they added.

While the department is working to support the four affected schools, it did not confirm who will fund any repairs.

The collapse of a primary school’s flat roof in 2018 – at a weekend and with no casualties – is believed to have brought the potential danger of RAAC’s fragility into sharp focus.

In September, the Office for Government Property issued a safety briefing warning that RAAC was “life-expired and liable to collapse”.

The body fears the “crumbly” material, used widely in flat-roofed school buildings, is “liable to collapse”.

More than 150 schools “have been identified as potentially having RAAC”. This week the government widened its inquiry into RAAC to all public buildings.

Source: Schools Week

Alan Siggins, Managing Director of Airflow Developments and indoor ventilation expert, says:

“As Clean Air Day approaches, concerns surrounding the quality of air indoors come back into focus. And it’s not before time.

“Air pollution has been shown to have a significant impact on health and wellbeing. According to the WHO¹, ambient air pollution and household air pollution are associated with 6.7 million premature deaths each year, around the world. Studies are also highlighting that indoor air quality is significantly worse than outdoor air quality. In fact, a report from Clean Air Day² found that ultrafine particle pollution is, on average, 3.5 times higher inside the home than outside.

“So it’s clear that greater emphasis on indoor air quality is needed, particularly when it comes to ventilation in schools, homes and offices – where people spend a lot of time. We can’t just shrug off the issue of indoor air quality when we know it brings a multitude of benefits.

“Cleaner indoor air improves productivity and cognitive function, speeding up response times and allowing people to focus more effectively. It also reduces triggers for conditions like asthma and lessens the likelihood of getting sick from airborne viruses.

“Factors like this are especially relevant to businesses, who want greater employee well-being and productivity. So they have a particular interest in lifting air quality. But even more importantly, they have a responsibility to look after employees’ health, providing an environment where they feel comfortable and can work to the best of their ability.

“Improving air quality is our area of expertise and we know the solutions available to overcome these problems. However, significant investment is required and there must be support from the upper reaches of government for that to happen. We hope Clean Air Day helps to raise awareness and bring this vital issue back into the national consciousness. It’s a reminder that we must all do our part to reduce indoor air pollution and promote good indoor ventilation.”

¹ https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health

² https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/news/revealed-indoor-air-pollution-3-5-times-worse-than-outdoor-air-pollution