Revealed: 15 Norfolk schools needing 'immediate' work on ceilings to ensure safety
Norfolk County Council's inspected sixty schools since the beginning of the academic year
Local leaders say fifteen schools in Norfolk will need immediate work on their ceilings to ensure their safety.
Norfolk County Council's inspected sixty schools since the beginning of the academic year - after concerns were raised about a material in their ceilings which was prone to collapse if damaged.
It followed the partial collapse of a lath and plaster ceiling at an academy led by Synergy Education Trust.
Whilst the material alone is not a cause for concern, ceilings may be at risk of collapse if the lath and plaster is damaged.
Lath and plaster ceilings are often above suspended ceilings in schools, so damage cannot be seen on a visual inspection alone.
The council had initially arranged inspections at 23 maintained schools, where it knew the material was present.
The checks prompted the closure of Avenue Junior School for three days and one class at Parkside School, in Norwich, also closed for a day.
Now it's been confirmed fifteen schools, of the 60 inspected, require immediate work on parts of their ceilings.
These schools are:
Avenue Junior School
The Parkside School
Freethorpe Community Primary and Nursery School
Bacton Primary School
Brooke VC CE Primary School
Hainford VC Primary School
Woodton Primary School
Horning Community Primary School
Ludham Primary School and Nursery
Terrington St. John Primary School
Tilney St. Lawrence Community Primary School
Ellingham CE VC Primary School
Walpole Highway Primary School
St George’s Primary & Nursery School
Hevingham Primary School
All these schools will remain open, with appropriate measures in place to ensure a safe and effective learning environment for pupils.
“The safety of children and staff always has to come first"
Councillor Penny Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Children Services, said: “The safety of children and staff always has to come first, so it was important that we carried out these checks as soon as this issue came to light.
“I want to thank our school leaders and staff for their support with this and the huge efforts some have made to keep open or reopen their schools. We’re sorry for the inconvenience but we had to reassure ourselves of the safety of our children.
“We will now be working to make repairs at the 15 schools where they are needed and will get these done as quickly as we can, whilst minimising any disruption to children’s learning.
“We’ve already notified the Department for Education of this issue, but we will now be writing to them with details of our findings and highlighting the additional financial pressure this will place on our school capital budget.”