A SCHOOl has been forced to install 18 temporary classrooms after building work meant children were not able to social distance effectively on site.

The King Edmund School in Rochford made the decision to close to pupils on October 19, to allow for a new system for children to move around the school and more classrooms to be put in place.

The school has previously come under fire after pictures circulated showing children crammed into a small corridor.

A building at the school, which consists of 29 teaching rooms, a school hall, gymnasium and many of the school’s offices and meeting spaces, is undergoing repairs.

Due to the pandemic, the school was told work would need to continue after the summer break.

However, the fenced off area around the school needed to be increased - resulting in a new system being worked out to allow for pupils to socially distance.

The pupils returned to school on Monday, and all classrooms are set to be in use by today.

In a letter to parents on October 16, headteacher Jonathan Osborn said: “Following careful analysis of these requirements, it is clear that this makes movement around the school far more difficult, particularly in getting from the yard to D, E and F floors.

“It introduces ‘pinch points’ that, particularly in light of needing to promote distancing as students move around the school, makes it unfeasible to have all students on the school site at the same time, until we have put alternative or additional pathways in place.”

The Department of Education has since supplied eight temporary classrooms and ten have been installed by Essex County Council.

Mr Osborn told parents that it would not have been possible to have all students moving around the school safely without the temporary classrooms.

He went on to thank parents for their support during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a letter to parents on November 8, Mr Osborn added: “ I want to say thank you to parents for your continued support over the past three weeks and for supporting your child or children and helping them to engage properly with the online work that has been set each day.

“I know that this is not easy to do, having had to do it with one of my own children earlier in the year, so we are all grateful to you for your efforts.”

  • Early today a headline associated with this article incorrectly referenced the King John School in relation to this story. The story itself makes it clear the school is King Edmund. We apologise for any inconvience caused