School Closed due to Flooding - Jan 16

We suffered catastrophic flooding over the Christmas break - read the full story here

Saturday 9 Jan 16

Great news! The temporary boiler has now been running for nearly twenty four hours and is doing a great job heating the majority of school. There remains an issue in a couple of classrooms but the contractors are on site today working to remedy this and back up heating is on standby should it be needed.

Having spent the morning in school there is currently every reason to expect that the school site will be open for children on Monday 11 January.

School day -will run as usual, including school meal provision.

Before and After School club -will operate in the school hall (usual hours)

Extra-curricular clubs -will start week beginning 18 January.

Drop off and collection -should happen as usual however be aware that there is not as much room in the playground as there are contractors’ compounds on site.

Y6 should come into main school via the main entrance and be collected at the end of the day in the front playground.

At this point is would be appropriate to thank the many people who have worked so hard this week to enable the school to reopen. Particular thanks go to JC Pickard and Sons (contractors),  our school staff, Dr Cummings and staff at South Craven School and Rev Kanu at St Peters Methodist Church who had been on standby to accommodate the school if the need arose.

We are looking forward to having our school family back together on Monday.

Thursday 7 Jan 16

Dear School Family

It has been another long (and rather cold) day in school but before I leave I wanted to give you a brief update of where we are now.

You may have noticed the large temporary boiler which has been delivered onto the school site. Specialist contractors will be on site tomorrow to connect this  and fingers crossed we may have soon have heat in school.  If this all goes smoothly that would mean that our school family will be reunited on Monday and the children can come back to school.

However, as we are still dealing with some unknowns there remains the  possibility of children being educated off site next week. Plans for this eventuality are already in place and I will share them with you should the need arise. Please be mindful that  if this is the case it would be unlikely that we would be able to offer before and  after school care.

In either case children will be in education next week which is great news for all of us.

I am aware this is a short update but wanted to reassure you that everyone continues to work very hard to be able to resolve the issue.

I will send you more information as soon as I have it.

kindest regards

Fiona Beetles

Headteacher

Tuesday 5 January

Dear School Family

I promised to keep you updated regarding the impact of flooding to our school over the Christmas break.

As many of you will have seen, contractors have been on site since early Monday morning. The Y6 classroom, kitchen and toilet have now been stripped of carpets and plaster taken off walls to about waist height. The good news is that the damp course has not been compromised and that damp ingress appears to have been minimal – the industrial driers are doing a good job.

Unfortunately the situation in the main school is not as positive. The boiler remains out of action and it now looks likely that this will have to be replaced. Initially we have tried heating the school with industrial electrical heaters   however  the  electrical system  in school is not able to sustain the number required to heat the building to a  constant temperature.

We are currently  investigating the possibility of installing a temporary boiler system – this is subject to approval from our insurers, and then the installation and testing of the system which would be needed.

I am acutely aware that time is marching on and have therefore taken the difficult decision,  along with senior staff and governors, that school should  remain closed for the rest of this week. I wanted to let you know now to give you as much notice as possible to make alternative arrangements for your children.

Whilst at the moment I have no further information that I can give you, other than  we are currently putting together a contingency plan for week beginning 11 January which may involve our children being educated off site if needed.

I will keep you updated as soon as I know more.

Once again I would like to thank you for your understanding and the messages of support you have been sending us.

Kindest regards

Fiona Beetles

Friday 1 Jan 16

You may be aware that Sutton in Craven experienced unprecedented  flooding during the Christmas break. It quickly became apparent that the Y6 classroom has been affected and a plan was put in place to ensure that children would be able to return to school.

However a closer inspection of the whole school yesterday has revealed that flood damage has affected the main school building too. Whilst the classrooms are not directly affected the entire cellar has been flooded  and as a consequence the boiler has been underwater. Obviously this means that there is  currently no heating in school.

Remedial work will begin on Monday morning when contractors are back at work.

Therefore school will be closed to children until at least Thursday 7 January. I will keep you up to date of the situation as soon as I know more.

I would like to apologise for inconvenience caused and to reassure you that everything is being done to ensure that school reopens for children as soon as possible.

As always thank you for your support and understanding.

Fiona Beetles