More than 100 Norfolk school buildings 'at risk of imminent failure'

As part of a survey conducted by the government into conditions of school buildings nationwide, 121 schools in Norfolk and Waveney were identified as being at risk - around one in every four.

The Conditions of School Buildings Survey, conducted by the Department for Education, classified how fit for purpose the buildings children are being taught in are.

Buildings were rated between A and D, with D grade buildings considered to be either at the end of their life or "at serious risk of imminent failure".

In Norfolk and Waveney, one in four schools were found to have at least one element classified as grade D.

With 112 of the 121 being in Norfolk, it means there are just 10 local authority areas in the country with more on the list. Suffolk rank 16th on the list, with 90 schools rated as grade D.

Norfolk County Council education bosses say they are taking the report's finding seriously and looking for solutions, but critics say too little has been spent historically on addressing the problem.

Mike Smith-Clare, Labour county councillor. (Image: Labour Party)

Mike Smith-Clare, Labour's education spokesman at County Hall said: "This is down to underinvestment that has not only had a crippling impact on the school buildings but on the education young people receive.

"I remember in my days as a teacher, around 20 years ago, cracks in walls would be covered by a well-placed poster.

"The government has simply tried to use a sticking plaster in our schools and that plaster is now coming unstuck.

"They desperately need to properly invest in schools and make sure they are not only fit for now but fit for the future - otherwise we will be left with children trying to learn in crumbling buildings."

Norfolk County Councillor Daniel Elmer. Picture: Norfolk County Coucil (Image: Archant)

Daniel Elmer, deputy cabinet member for children's services at the Tory-led Norfolk County Council, said: “The council has made considerable investment of the condition grants it receives from the government via our schools capital programme to ensure the schools for which we have responsibility are well maintained and provide an appropriate learning environment for children’s education.

“Obviously we take this report very seriously and always analyse the latest DfE data against our own surveys as information becomes available.

“In respect of the schools we are responsible for maintaining, we operate a programme of surveys on a rolling basis to continuously assess the condition of buildings and we take appropriate action where issues are identified.

“Where we are the landlord for a school in an academy trust, we survey buildings every five years as part of the lease and any issues in need of attention are raised with the school and academy leaders, who have access to government funding and will arrange any work required.”

There are 432 schools as it stands in Norfolk, with County Hall responsible for 153 of these. The rest are either maintained by academy trusts or the Church of England.

Long-running saga

One school that is likely to have been included on the list is Angel Road Junior School, which since July last year has been vacant.

Pupils were moved out of the school in Norwich after structural problems were identified and parts of its roof began to fall in.

Since this date, pupils have been taught either in mobile classrooms at the neighbouring Angel Road Infant School site or in spare rooms at nearby St Clements Primary.

The Evolution Academy Trust, which runs the school, has indicated that it intends to return the building to Norfolk County Council and from September teach all pupils on the Angel Road Infant School site.

Work has already began to install modular classroom buildings on the site, with the Trust seeking retrospective planning permission for the project. However, it has been warned that if this permission is not granted, it could face enforcement action.

Do you know of a Norfolk school in drastic need of improvement work? Contact education correspondent David Hannant via email on david.hannant@archant.co.uk.