Dear Parents/Carers,
As Chair of the Gosforth Group, I want to provide an update to parents on the situation at Jesmond Park Academy. First of all, my apologies that we have had to keep the school closed for so long and that we have not been able to share many details with you. I appreciate and understand that this is a challenging time for you and your children, and that this has caused disruption to families.
It has been frustrating for everyone connected with the school that we have not been able to communicate the nature of the issue sooner. This is as a result of the complicated legal relationships but I am now in a position to be able to provide more details about what has happened and the measures being taken to ensure that the school is safe for students to return.
As you know the school was built under the Private Finance Initiative, PFI, and is managed by a company which we refer to as the PFI company. They are responsible for the building for a period of 25 years under the contract; this has just over six years to run. Until that contract comes to an end, our relationship with the PFI company is, in simple terms, as a tenant of the building.
As part of the arrangement we occupy the building during school hours; after hours and at weekends the building reverts back to the PFI company, during which they can let the facilities to third party providers. As we are not in full control of the building, we have limited leverage in getting things moving when a problem occurs and responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of the building is with the PFI company, not with the school or the Trust.
On 18th October, there was a failure and collapse of a length of steel fascia from the covered walkway at the back of the school. Our ultimate priority is the safety of the students and staff, and as a result of the collapse it was critical that we ascertained the condition of other fascia panels, which run all the way around the roof, and that they were secure.
The PFI company sent out a surveyor and through our legal advisers we sent out a surveyor of our own to quality check the inspection and the final report. The inspections and checks started on Thursday 26th October and the report was delivered on Friday 3rd November.
That report has been looked at in detail by our appointed surveyor and our legal adviser and from that, our conclusion is that we cannot be sure the building is completely safe. The safety of our students and staff is paramount and we will not take any chances. Steel falling from the walkway was serious; steel falling two stories from the main roof could be catastrophic.
Colleagues from the City Council, the Department for Education and the Regional Schools Office have been working hard to look at solutions and options for getting the students back to face-to-face learning. As one of the largest schools in the North East, with over 2000 students, relocation to alternative premises is a huge challenge and not a straight forward or quick fix. However, the Department has some very recent experience following the closures elsewhere due to RAAC which they have been sharing and we are also pursuing a number of solutions on site to help get students safely back into the building.
I know that there are reports that the building has been in use after hours and plans for third parties to use the building over the coming days. This is not under our control and certainly not a position that we agree with, they took the decision that their regular lettings could go ahead.
As a Trust, we have every confidence in Mr Campbell and his staff. They have been working incredibly hard, under difficult circumstances, to facilitate education for the children. We recognise that there is no substitute for face-to-face learning but under the circumstances I have every faith that staff have done, and continue to do what they can to support students.
We understand and recognise that many of you and your children will be worrying about lost learning, and I want to provide assurances to you that, as a Trust, we are ready to provide assistance and resources to support any catch-up work that is required. Likewise, we recognise the anxiety and worry this incident has caused to students and we will support Mr Campbell and his team in identifying any additional wellbeing resources that may be needed, outside the existing provision.
Once again I apologise that we have not shared this sooner, but our hands have been tied due to legal constraints and the complicated nature of the relationships. I hope that this has provided some clarity on the complexity of the situation and going forward that we are able to share more positive news with you.
Until then, we recognise your anger, your concerns for the education of your children, the disruption to your family lives and to your work. We value your ongoing patience as we look to resolve matters and please be assured that we are firmly committed to ensuring a safe solution is found as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
George Snaith
Chair of Trustees