Nearly 40 Norfolk schools to be inspected amid worries ceilings could collapse

Norfolk County Council has announced that 37 school buildings will be inspected following concerns about damage to some of their ceilings.

The council started inspecting some schools at the beginning of the academic year after it was notified by the Synergy Education Trust about issues involving lath and plaster ceilings at some of its schools.

The material alone is not a cause for concern, the authority says - but ceilings may be at risk of collapsing if the lath and plaster is damaged.

Twenty-three schools were identified for urgent visits at the beginning of term – these were schools where the council knew that the material was present.

Although the council regularly inspects maintained school buildings, it says damage can be difficult to spot on a visual inspection in suspended ceilings, so further urgent surveys were requested.

The council is now carrying out further visits to schools, which may have the material, based on the age of their buildings. This is an “extra precaution”.

Cllr Penny Carpenter, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “The safety of children and staff is always our first priority, so we are now checking any school where we think there could be this material, just to be on the safe side.

“We know that the material alone doesn’t pose a risk, but we want to check for signs of any damage, as we know these ceilings can collapse if there are showing signs of wear and tear.

“If we find any damage that requires urgent repairs then we will work with schools to minimise disruption and support their contingency planning.

“This is a similar approach to the one we used when RAAC issues were identified nationally. We’re sorry for any inconvenience it might cause to children, parents and schools but we believe it is the right approach to assure ourselves of children’s safety.”

The council has risk assessed all of the schools it is responsible for maintaining. Academy trusts are responsible for the maintenance of their buildings, so the council has also written to academy trusts recommending that they check their ceilings.

The council has also notified the Department for Education of the issue.

A total of 23 schools were originally inspected.

The additional schools in our area now to be checked over are:

• Denver CE VC Primary School

• Great Massingham CE Primary School

• Harpley CE VC Primary School

• Terrington St Clement Community School

• Terrington St John Primary School

• Tilney St Lawrence Community Primary School

• Walpole Highway Community Primary School

• Heartwood CE VC Primary and Nursery School (Swaffham)

The checks prompted the closure of Avenue Junior School in Norwich for three days last week, while one class at the city’s Parkside School was also closed yesterday.