Pupils and staff at Christ Church Academy and Baildon CE Primary School are delighted to be returning to their school sites to continue face-to-face learning after Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) concrete was identified in their buildings.
Both Christ Church Academy, located on Wrose Brow Road, and Baildon CE Primary School, on Coverdale Way, adopted alternative learning provisions for pupils after RAAC, a lightweight form of concrete that is now recognised as less robust than traditional concrete, was identified in parts of the schools’ buildings in September.
Our Trust fast-tracked inspections and funded structural surveys to mitigate the impact of the crumbling concrete and ensure the school communities were safe so pupils could return to learning as quickly as possible.
Over the past few months, maintaining face-to-face learning was a top priority for our Trust, which took measures to ensure pupils could continue in-person lessons whilst the building work took place. Some pupils were able to continue their education in safe parts of their school building or in marquees on the school grounds, whilst other pupils were taught at local community hubs and schools, including sister BDAT school, Shipley CofE primary, St John’s Church and Nell Bank.
Following successful and rapid remedial work by specialist contractors and the Trust, both schools are now safe and secure for pupils and staff to return to. Whilst some temporary classrooms have been configured, the first week back from half term has been a joyous occasion as all children returned to learning face-to-face indoors on their own school site.
Over the next few months, further long-term solutions will be undertaken to future-proof the buildings for years to come. This work will be carried out during the school holidays to minimise any disruption to children’s learning.
Katie Savage, Headteacher of Baildon CE Primary School, said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to welcome our whole school family back into our school building this week. We are so grateful to our children and staff for the incredible resilience they have shown over the past two months.”
Philippa Foster, Headteacher of Christ Church Academy, added: “It has been fantastic to welcome all our children back into our building this week. We had a very moving collective Worship on Monday with everyone gathered together in our own school hall for the first time this year. One of our youngest pupils expressed it perfectly when he said very simply and very sincerely, ‘Mrs Foster, I love our school!’”
Carol Dewhurst, CEO of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, said: “The safety and wellbeing of our pupils and staff is our top priority and that is why we funded inspections to ensure we knew as early as possible if our schools were affected. Thanks to the fantastic work of our contractors, we are delighted that all pupils have returned to their schools and will be taught inside and face-to-face from this week.
“A huge thanks also to our wonderful staff who have supported our pupils through the process and the organisations in the Bradford community that have welcomed them and supported their learning over the last several weeks. We now look forward to further advancing the buildings and enjoying the term ahead.
We would also like to thank other local community partners including Nell Bank, St John’s Church and of course colleagues at Shipley Primary School who all went above and beyond to welcome and host our staff and students at very short notice.”