You may have seen media coverage over the past few days regarding Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) and it being used between the1950s and 1990s to build schools.
DfE-commissioned surveys recently identified that RAAC panels were used in the construction of three of our Trust school buildings. On the afternoon of Thursday 31st August 2023, the Trust was directed by the DfE that they have taken the difficult decision to temporarily deem the three schools as sites that must not reopen next week.
Letters and text messages were sent to all staff, parents and carers (if contact details are held on the school database) on the afternoon of Friday 1st September. Copies can be found here:
St Anne’s Catholic Primary School
St Benet’s Catholic Primary School
As a Trust we are working hard to liaise with both the DfE and the affected school teams to ensure remedial arrangements are put in place as soon as is possible in order to minimise disruption to our children’s education.
We wish to reiterate that we absolutely appreciate the real concerns that the temporary closure may cause for our three school communities. We understand the disruption this will cause, however we have not been left with any choice from the DfE than to temporarily close as we put emergency measures in place to ensure our school site safety. We also appreciate that our children will be disappointed as they cannot come back to school to see their friends face to face at the start of the new term.
We will update the Trust and school websites, social media pages and forward text message updates with further information as soon as we have more information in the coming days.
