Trust ‘shocked’ to learn Northampton primary school building – built just two years ago – cannot be reopened

An education trust was “shocked” to learn a Northampton primary school building, which opened just two years ago, cannot be used in the new academic year.

Buckton Fields Primary School, which took in its first cohort in September 2021, has been told by the Department for Education it is unable to use the school building following a survey.

The Department for Education confirmed to this newspaper that three schools built by Caledonian Modular – Buckton Fields Primary, Sir Frederick Gibberd College in Harlow and Haygrove Secondary in Bridgwater – have been “advised not to reopen due to structural irregularities”.

This comes after, earlier in the year, two schools built by Caledonian Modular were demolished before construction was completed.

The issue with the three buildings unable to reopen in September are related to their “structural integrity” – which “weakens their ability to withstand adverse events such as very high winds or significant snowfall”.

The Department for Education told the Chronicle & Echo: “There are numerous problems associated with poor workmanship, which will impact the longevity of the buildings.

“Of most concern has been the structural and fire safety of the buildings which we have investigated further.

“As the buildings were not built in accordance with their design, we could not provide assurance that they were safe to occupy.”

A Department for Education spokesperson continued: “Nothing is more important than the health and safety of pupils and teachers, which is why we assess school buildings regularly to make sure they meet our high standards.

“Following surveys conducted at our request, we have identified concerns with building work carried out at Buckton Fields School by a specific contractor that is no longer in business.”

The spokesperson added that they are “working closely with school leaders on temporary measures to safely accommodate pupils and minimise disruption to their learning”.

These will be in place for September, said the spokesperson, and parents have been informed of the arrangements by Buckton Fields Primary this week. It has been confirmed that face-to-face learning will continue.

The “review of the structural integrity” of the three buildings unable to reopen took place in April.

When Caledonian Modular Limited went into administration in 2022, the Department for Education “identified a number of defects with two partially-built schools in Cornwall, which raised some significant concerns”.

The Department for Education was commissioned to survey the three schools that had been built, including Buckton Fields Primary, as there were “post-completion defects”.

Paul Watson, chief executive of Preston Hedges Trust and in charge of Buckton Fields Primary, said: “We were naturally shocked to be told by the Department for Education that we were unable to use the school building at Buckton Fields at the start of this coming new school year.

“We of course share the concerns raised by parents and will be working with them and the wider school community to make sure we rise to this challenge together. We have arranged meetings with them to this end.

“We now need to focus on getting fully ready for the start of term. We have been working tirelessly with colleagues at the Department for Education and with the support of West Northamptonshire Council to make sure that we have a full and effective contingency plan in place so no pupils’ education is impacted by this turn of events.

“I am confident that the plan we have in place will achieve just that.”

Preston Hedges Trust told this newspaper it will be utilising space at its other school, Pineham Barns, for the first half-term of the new school year.

Each class will have its own dedicated space for learning, school assemblies and PE, and hot and cold lunches, curricular and extra-curricular activities will continue as normal. A full transport service will also operate between the two schools.

It has been confirmed by the Trust that work will commence this Friday (August 25) on the Buckton Fields Primary School field, for a new school building to be put in place.

This will be ready to use from October half-term as an interim measure while the inspection work and any reparations take place at the existing school building.

Talking about how long it will take for the buildings to be fixed and reopened, or if they will be demolished, the Department for Education says it will “continue to work with technical advisors to agree a strategy to repair or replace the buildings”.

Information will be shared with each school by the Department for Education as soon as possible.

As Preston Hedges Trust is working with West Northamptonshire Council to implement its contingency plan, the council was approached for comment.

Councillor Jonathan Nunn, leader of WNC, said: “The Department for Education (DfE) and Preston Hedges Trust informed West Northamptonshire Council that Buckton Fields Primary School would be unable to reopen to pupils at the start of term next month, due to concerns about the structural safety of the school building.

“Although this is one of three schools nationally for which DfE used the same contractor and suffering similar safety issues, Buckton Fields school is the only one affected within West Northamptonshire.

“DfE and the school are progressing alternative arrangements to temporarily place Buckton Fields pupils at Pineham Barns School from the start of the new school term, and are in direct communication with parents and staff to keep them informed throughout this process.

“We appreciate pupils and parents will find this unsettling and we are supporting the school and DfE as they work towards finding a solution as quickly as possible to ensure educational needs continue to be met whilst these building issues are being addressed.”

The Department for Education has confirmed it is “in the process of launching an investigation into Caledonian Modular”.