Southend special school to reopen next week after concrete concerns forced it to close

A special school which was forced to closed because of concrete safety concerns has announced it can finally reopen to students.

Kingsdown School, in Southend-on-Sea, Essex will open to pupils on Monday 11 September, twelve days after being told it could not reopen for the start of the new school year because of safety fears relating to the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).

It is one of more than 100 schools across the country told to shut, or partially shut, due to fears they were built with Raac.

More than 40% of all the schools named are in just one county - Essex.

A Kingsdown School spokesman said structural engineers had completed their risk assessment and a number of mitigations are being put in place to allow students to return.

They include:

• The use of two unoccupied classrooms in neighbouring Eastwood Primary School;

• Portable toilets for staff;

• A portable building to use for a staff room;

• Reopening the 10 classrooms on site, which are unaffected by Raac.

The cost is being covered by the Department for Education (DfE).

Louise Robinson, headteacher of Kingsdown School, said: “It is wonderful to finally be able to welcome our students back after an incredibly stressful and draining few weeks.

"I know the rest of the staff and I cannot wait to see their lovely faces.

"The situation we have found ourselves in is far from ideal but as a headteacher, my priority throughout all of this has been the children and their families.

"It truly shows the community spirit of Southend that when in need, we come together to support one another."

She added that the mitigations in place are a short-term solution and the school and council will continue working with DfE to fix the safety concerns on a long-term basis.

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