Fears for school buildings in Norfolk after emergency closures

The Avenue Junior School in Norwich only informed parents on Tuesday evening that it would not open the following day after identifying “urgent concerns” about its roof.

Parents were then informed on Wednesday that the closure would continue for the rest of the week after problems were identified in five classrooms and three other areas.

Avenue is the third school to close this September due to structural problems, following Fakenham Junior School and Reepham Primary the week before.

The problems in Fakenham and Reepham led to inspections at 27 other schools, including Avenue Junior School.

After on-site inspections in the Golden Triangle, assessors informed the school that five of the classrooms needed urgent repairs before they could be used.

Parents will find out what will happen next by the end of this week. School management will try to replace the closed classrooms with temporary buildings and other rooms as quickly as possible.

And since other schools are conducting similar checks, it remains to be seen whether further disruptions will occur elsewhere.

The debacle is reminiscent of the fall 2023 semester, when last-minute changes to state guidelines for reinforced aerated concrete caused chaos in schools nationwide. Ultimately, however, only one school in Norfolk was affected.

Union leaders sharply criticized the situation, saying it was the result of years of underfunding of schools and poor forward planning.

Scott Lyons of the National Education Union (Image: Archant)

Scott Lyons, Norfolk district secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The problem has been pushed further and further back, meaning we now have to deal with urgent action rather than remedial action.”

“The state of schools is currently a cause for great concern and it seems that it will not be long before something catastrophic happens.”

Bob Groome from NEU (Image: Archant)

His colleague Bob Groome, who has long campaigned for the condition of school buildings, added: “We were lucky that there is only one RAAC school in Norfolk, but this appears to be the result of years of inadequate maintenance of schools.”

“What is more disruptive when schools have to close? Both for the children’s education and for their parents who have to organize childcare.”

“The situation is extremely worrying and we should not end up in a situation where there are closures immediately after the summer holidays.”

The latest problems come two years after an official report warned that more than 100 school buildings in Norfolk were at “risk of imminent collapse”.

In 2022, the Department of Education’s survey on the condition of school buildings found that 121 of the county’s schools were in such a state of disrepair that they were in immediate danger.

Concerned parents are now waiting to hear whether Avenue will be the only school affected following the latest inspections.

Penny Carptenter, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Norfolk County Council (Image: Norfolk Conservatives)

Penny Carpenter, cabinet member for children’s services at Norfolk County Council, said: “We carry out inspections in public schools to assess the condition of the buildings and ensure that children can learn in a safe environment.”

“This latest issue, raised last week, affects schools with batten and plaster ceilings used before the mid-20th century.

“We carry out precautionary checks on schools where this material is present, because the safety of children is always our top priority.”