Leicester schools disrupted over concrete panel safety fears

The main office and key stage two block at Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy are affected

Three schools in Leicester will be disrupted just days into the new school year because of concrete safety fears.

Parks Primary, Mayflower Primary School and Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy were affected, said the city council.

The authority said it was working with the schools to keep disruption to a minimum.

More than 100 schools in England that have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) panels will have to take immediate action.

A city council spokesman said: "Three schools in Leicester have been told that they have buildings affected by RAAC and that those buildings need to be taken out of use.

"In the case of Parks Primary and Mayflower Primary School, which are both local authority-maintained schools, this notification came before the summer holidays, and we worked very closely with them to arrange alternative accommodation in order to ensure in-person teaching was able to continue as quickly as possible."

The council said it would also be working alongside Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy to offer support and advice to "try to minimise disruption to pupils".

The latter institution, which is run by The Mead Educational Trust (TMET), said it had been contacted by the Department for Education (DfE) to warn a section of the school building contained potentially dangerous concrete panels.

'Concerning news'

RAAC panels - a lightweight form of concrete used to build schools from the 1950s until the mid-1990s - have led to a number of structural failures.

The DfE has recently changed its guidance to schools on the management of buildings that contain RAAC, and has instructed any affected spaces should be vacated.

This means the main office and key stage two block at Willowbrook Mead have been closed so safety measures can be taken.

Pupils were set to continue their learning online, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

TMET chief executive Sarah Ridley said: "Of course the safety of pupils and staff is our first priority so we are taking every precaution so that no-one is put at risk.

"We know this news will be concerning for everyone. We are doing everything we can to keep the inconvenience for families to an absolute minimum."

'Absolute nightmare'

Parks Primary, in New Parks Crescent, was forced to relocate several classes and borrow rooms from other institutions following the discovery in May of RAAC.

Cas Evans, head teacher, estimated the cost of the disruption so far, including getting new toilet blocks for her pupils, was £30,000.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, she said it had caused "huge disruption".

Luke Whitney, head teacher of Mayflower Primary School, said it had been given just 24 hours to close after the problem was identified in April.

He said having to spread its 500 pupils across four sites, including a mosque's community hall and a manor house, had been an "absolute nightmare".

This week the school has been able to reopen partially for half of the 474 pupils until a temporary module is built.

"Then the surveyors, architects and builders can make a decision as to whether or not we repair or demolish and start all over again," Mr Whitney said.

"The fact that they're building us a temporary school makes me think the works required are likely to be long-term."