| SPOTLIGHT |
An educational trust has been fined after 15 schoolchildren and their teacher were injured when their classroom ceiling collapsed during a lesson, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has revealed.
The trust was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £7,116.31 in costs at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week (29 August).
The incident occurred on 15 November 2021, when fifteen year 3 pupils, aged between seven and eight, and their teacher had the ceiling collapse onto them at Rosemead Preparatory School in London.
Tables and chairs being stored in the attic above were among the falling debris. The children and teacher sustained upper limb fractures, cuts, and concussion.
A HSE investigation found items such as desks and chairs were stored in an unsuitable area in the school’s attic. “This area was not designed to be load bearing and led to the ceiling collapsing”, said the regulator.
The investigation also found Thurlow Educational Trust had “failed to undertake any structural or load bearing capability assessments of the area being used to store the items”.
“The trust had also failed to assess whether the area in question was appropriate to be used for the storage of these items”, said the regulator.
Thurlow Educational Trust pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
HSE inspector Samuel Brown said: “This incident has resulted in injuries to multiple young children due to the failings of the school to ensure that chairs and tables were safely stored above their classroom.
“Schools should be a place where children can come to learn from teachers and one another without having to worry about their safety.
“Fortunately, this incident did not cause any more serious injuries, but the mental and emotional impact of such an event should not be understated.
“Employers need to take action to ensure that building stability and solidity problems are not caused through overloading areas not designed to bear weight. As proven, the failure to do so can have severe consequences.”
This comes as more than 100 schools in England have been told they must close some buildings over concerns of sudden collapse.
Last week, the Government announced that school buildings made from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) should close immediately until safety work is undertaken.
The Government has launched an inquiry into the use of historic building material RAAC in schools.
Lottie Winson
