Some students to safely return to Scalby School after collapse-risk concrete issue
The pupils will be learning on parts of the site where there isn't crumbling concrete
A school in Scarborough whose buildings are at risk of collapsing is safely welcoming some students back today.
Year 11s at Scalby School will be having face-to-face learning in parts of the site where there is not crumbling concrete.
There will be a staggered start this week for other year groups who will have a mix of in-person and home teaching.
Michael McCluskie is from Coast and Vale Learning Trust, which runs Scalby School. He said: "Year 11s will be able have face-to-face teaching in an area of the school that's not been affected by RAAC at the moment and there won't be any contractors there. We'll then bring in Years 8, 9 and 10 in a staggered programme during the course of the week, and those students will receive half a day's face-to-face teaching with their teachers with the other half of the day being onlien learning.
"Online learning isn't a substitute for face-to-face teaching. We found that in the pandemic students thrive when they've got their teacher in front of them to build those relationships, that's what delivers excellent outcomes. It's not going to be without its problems but it's the best that we can do in the short term and obviously, the plan will be to get as much face-to-face teaching going into the medium term.
"We have contractors on the school site at the moment and what they're doing is they're putting in mitigation supports in areas of the school that've been vulnerable, and as they continue that work they'll probably find more complex issues to deal with. We were hoping that this work would be completed within three weeks but we don't know what we're dealing with at the moment so it could be longer.
"We've got the issue around getting the temporary accommodation actually constructed and fabricated. We've only got rough indications as to when that'll be happening and when that can be installed, so it's difficult to talk with any confidence about timelines at the moment but as soon as possible is definitely what the school's aim would be. If we can do it before Christmas then that's all the better."
You can read more about the school's confirmed re-opening plans here.