Essex: 50 schools fitted with crumbling concrete, says council

Fifty schoolhouse buildings successful Essex are fitted with unsafe factual and galore person been told to hold the commencement of term, the region assembly has said.

Kevin Bentley, the person astatine Essex County Council, said helium had requested an "urgent meeting" with the caput of authorities implicit the abrupt news.

One genitor successful Essex described the concern arsenic a "shambles".

Mr Bentley, Conservative, told BBC Essex: "We are present moving with teachers and besides experts successful our section to marque definite children's acquisition is disrupted arsenic small arsenic possible, and the absorption connected their information and the teachers' information is paramount."

He said 14 of the 50 buildings successful Essex were section authorization maintained schools.

The Essex County Council-governed country does not see Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea, wherever much schools are affected.

Mr Bentley added: "It would person been amended of people to person known astir this astatine the opening of the summer, not with a fewer days to go."

Hayley, a genitor astatine the school, told the BBC she wanted to "cry, outcry and scream" erstwhile she received a missive from St Andrew's Junior School successful Hatfield Peverel informing her it indispensable close.

"To crook astir to my lad and accidental you're not starting schoolhouse adjacent week has been a spot heart-breaking," said Hayley, who works afloat clip and said uncovering exigency childcare was "a spot of a mission".

Rhys, aged seven, said helium felt "a spot sad" and had been looking guardant to seeing his champion friend.

Janet Emberson, 72, has 2 grandchildren astatine the schoolhouse and expects to prime up much childcare portion they implicit online learning astatine home.

"It [the schoolhouse closure] should person been done years agone and it shouldn't person got to this situation," she said.

Reinforced autoclaved aerated factual (RAAC) was utilized successful nationalist buildings betwixt the 1960s and 1980s and has an expected lifespan of 30 years.

The Department for Education (DfE) said it had been alert of RAAC since 1994 and advised schools successful 2018 to instrumentality "adequate contingencies".

Duncan Campbell has 2 children astatine White Hall Academy successful Clacton-on-Sea and was told the tract would beryllium closed for astatine slightest 2 other days adjacent week.

"The schoolhouse person been fantastic but the DfE person fto them down," said Mr Campbell.

"It sounds similar the full happening is going to get worse earlier it gets better."

Phil, a genitor astatine a schoolhouse successful Chelmsford which has been ordered to close, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "After each the children went done during the pandemic it's conscionable much upheaval astatine the commencement of a caller year.

"It conscionable seems to beryllium a spot of a shambles to beryllium honest."

Sir Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative MP for Harwich and North Essex, told BBC Essex 8 schools were affected successful his constituency, with a further 2 inactive taxable to surveys.

"I was rather staggered. I had nary thought the occupation was truthful wide and truthful concentrated successful Essex," helium said.

Children astatine Mistley Norman Church of England primary, which is successful Sir Bernard's constituency, person been taught astatine different schoolhouse tract since April due to the fact that of the RAAC.

Kingsdown School, a peculiar schoolhouse successful Southend-on-Sea for children aged from 3 to 14, was besides told to adjacent its main building.

Head teacher Louise Robinson said her squad was having "very hard conversations" with parents and hoped a solution could beryllium recovered truthful it could "at slightest partially" reopen.

Southend-on-Sea City Council said it was moving with the schoolhouse and the DfE to make contingency plans.

The DfE said "any abstraction oregon country with confirmed RAAC should nary longer beryllium unfastened without mitigations successful place".