Welcome to Bentfield Primary School & Nursery latest news...

• New Uniform Supplier

  Thu 21 Mar 2024

  AVM Workwear are our new uniform supplier.

  For more information on our uniform requirements, please go to the Parents section of the website.

• RAAC Update from Mr Rogers

  Wed 06 Sep 2023 Mr Rogers

  I’m sure many of you would have seen the recent news coverage around reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in schools. 

    

  RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete used in roof, floor, cladding and wall construction in the UK from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s. It is understood to have been used in some offices, hospitals and schools. It is recognised that RAAC panels could have material and construction deficiencies making them less robust than traditional concrete. 

   

  The purpose of this letter is to reassure you that, although we have RAAC in our school, we have appropriate structural support in place for the RAAC that is present and, therefore, your child can attend school as normal from next week. 

   

  Although RAAC may be something many of you have only just heard about, I am pleased to say that, as a school, it has been something which we addressed several years ago. Working in partnership with Essex County Council, we undertook structural surveys in 2020, and then significant works were carried out during the summer holidays in 2021. This involved reinforcing our existing roof, which is created from a METSEC steel frame, with a further 96 steel girders. As you can imagine this was a major project, which took the entire duration of the summer break, however the work mitigated any of the concerns which have currently been highlighted in the press, and was ultimately crucial in ensuring that our school building is as safe as possible.  

   

  We continue to work closely with Essex County Council to keep in place frequent monitoring visits for our school buildings to ensure that pupils and staff will continue to remain safe, which is always our number one priority. 

   

  I appreciate that if you have seen the very recent media coverage on this issue, it will have caused you some concern, and I hope that this letter helps put your mind at ease. 

   

  Mr Rogers 

  Headteacher