Southend special school Kingsdown reopens after crumbling concrete work

A special school in Southend-on-Sea closed because of safety concerns about crumbling concrete it to reopen to pupils on Monday.

Kingsdown School, for children aged three to 14, was closed last month because of concerns over reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).

Following assessments by structural engineers and a number of mitigation measures, pupils can now return.

However, some classes will be in a neighbouring school.

Southend City Council said 10 of the classrooms unaffected by Raac would reopen, but some pupils would be taught in unused classrooms in the nearby Eastwood Primary School.

Portable toilets for staff and a portable staffroom were being brought in, and the school's administration block had been relocated to a corridor.

The cost of the mitigation measures was being covered by the Department for Education (DfE).

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

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

The council said the mitigations in place "are a short-term solution and the school and council will continue working with DfE to fix the safety concerns with Raac on a long-term basis".

"It is not yet known what those long-term solutions could be," a spokesperson added.

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