Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, recently paid a visit to Bromford’s school in Wickford to see for himself the new relocatable classrooms that have recently been installed by the Department for Education (DfE), to cope with the closure of two blocks at the school, because of the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
Ever since RAAC was first discovered at the school, some months ago, Mark has been working very closely with the Headteacher Mr Jochen Tree and he has had numerous meetings with DfE Ministers, from the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, downwards, to try and alleviate the situation at the schools that are affected within Mark’s constituency, (these also include; King Edmund in Ashingdon, Hockley Primary School and Wyburns school in Rayleigh.)
Mark also accompanied DfE Schools Finance Minister, Baroness Barran last month, when she came to see the situation at Bromfords for herself. During his most recent visit, Mark was shown round one of the new, high-standard, relocatable classrooms by Mr Tree, all of which should now be in use at the school. As a result, and because the Collaborative Learning Centre (CLC), which is owned by Essex County Council has now been repurposed as a Sixth Form Centre at Bromfords, it has now been possible to accommodate all of the pupils at Bromfords back receiving face to face education, back on the school site itself.
Commenting on his visit, Mark said:
“I am very grateful to Mr Tree, with whom I have been working very closely over the past few months, for showing me the new arrangements at Bromfords, which now means we can accommodate all the pupils back on the school site itself. I would like to commend Mr Tree and all of his staff who have worked incredibly hard to facilitate this, as well as Essex County Council. I would also like to thank all the parents and pupils for their forbearance while this process has been ongoing. I will be staying in close contact with Mr Tree and Ministers at the DfE regarding the way forward at Bromfords, which I hope will eventually lead to a complete rebuild of the large teaching blocks which have been affected by RAAC. In the meantime, it is good to know that everyone should now be safely back at school.
