A ceiling which collapsed at a Norfolk school three years ago was built with the same material which has triggered repairs at more than a dozen schools in the region, it has emerged.
But the trust that ran Angel Road Junior School in Norwich, which closed after ceiling tiles fell twice in a matter of months in 2021, has insisted structural issues - rather than what was used to construct the ceiling - were to blame for problems there.
However, opposition councillors said the case should have served as a "flashing warning" and highlights a need for "tighter" oversight of Norfolk County Council school buildings leased to trusts. It comes amid calls for a radical rehaul of the entire school building inspection system.
The Conservative-controlled council is currently making emergency repairs at 15 schools it has responsibility for where the ceilings were constructed using a lathe and plaster method, which will cost more than £100,000 to fix.
The repairs follow inspections of 60 council-owned schools, prompted after the partial collapse of a lath and plaster ceiling at the Synergy Education Trust-run Fakenham Junior School earlier this year.
Opposition councillors have now questioned whether the potential issue could have been identified sooner given the earlier issues at Angel Road Junior School, a former council-owned school leased to an academy trust.
A spokeswoman for Evolution Academy Trust, which runs Angel Road, confirmed the ceiling there was made using lath and plaster but said that had not been the cause of the falling material.
She said: "A 2021 report about the old Angel Road Junior site determined that structural issues with the building's roof caused the ceiling problems at the time.
"During the investigations it was noted that the ceiling was made of lath and plaster, like many other buildings of a similar age, however this was not the cause of the issues."
The former school is currently empty.
The government has said the return of the derelict site to county council ownership needs to be tied in with renewing the lease for the Angel Road Infant School site, which the Evolution Trust also runs.
The current lease on Angel Road Infant School is due to expire in 2035, meaning unless current renegotiations conclude the junior school site will remain in limbo.
Norwich North Labour MP Alice Macdonald raised the issue of the empty school - and her hopes that it can be turned into a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) - in Parliament last week.
A spokeswoman for Norfolk County Council confirmed the council had not yet carried out its own inspection of the ceiling at Angel Road Junior School.
She said: "This is something we will do when the building is transferred back. The school isn’t being used currently, so there has been no reason to carry out an inspection."
But Steve Morphew, leader of the Labour group at County Hall, said: "We need to challenge the whole school building inspection system.
"Angel Road Junior School closed because of a ceiling collapse, which should have been a flashing warning that other older school buildings in Norfolk might be at risk.
"Academies have taken over many former council run schools on full repairing leases, but the county council remains responsible for school standards including ensuring children are learning in a safe and well maintained environment."
Mr Morphew said the current rules over inspections of schools needed to be "clarified and tightened" to prevent responsibility being avoided.
He said: "Children's safety trumps every consideration. But behind that is a potentially enormous backlog of inspection, improvement, maintenance and cost which academies have responsibility for, and the council has responsibility for making sure is carried out, on top of direct responsibility for schools still under council control.
"This is becoming a major issue and I am very pleased Alice Macdonald raised it in the House."
When the county council announced the inspections of the schools it has responsibility for, it urged trusts to conduct their own safety checks.
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