Pupils of a West Cumbrian special school will have to wait over seven days to find out if it will reopen.
Cumbria Academy for Autism in Workington shut for pupils this morning for three days following an external review of safeguarding and health and safety.
While the exact reason for the closure has not been disclosed, an academy spokesman said staff would use the half-term break to review its progress ‘towards fully updating staff training and policies’.
She added: “We will continually review progress to assess the feasibility of reopening from the following Monday, October 31.
“We will write to families again before the end of Friday, October 28, to update them on the plans for the following week.”
“Unfortunately, following an external safeguarding and health and safety review, the board of trustees have taken the very difficult decision to temporarily close our school for three days.
“This is a precautionary measure in order to ensure all health and safety-related policies, procedures and training for staff are fully up to date and suitable for the school.
“We very much understand this may present parents and carers with various challenges and we can assure you that we have not taken this decision lightly.
“As a board, we are confident that a decisive and efficient review of all training, procedures, and health and safety policies will help to ensure we can deliver the most nurturing, safest and best possible environment for the children and staff.
“We would like to thank our school community for their understanding and support at this time and very much look forward to welcoming the children back into school as soon as feasible.”
it is understood that the decision was taken in consultation with Cumbria County Council as the local education authority and the Department for Education.
A request by Cumbria Crack for an interview with the school’s leadership has been declined.
A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “As soon as we were made aware of the issues at the school we stepped in to offer support. Our officers are now working closely with the school. Irrespective of a school’s status, the county council will provide support to ensure that all Cumbrian children and young people are safe and able to access appropriate education.”
The academy opened in September 2019 for youngsters in Allerdale and Copeland aged four to 19 years old. Its most up-to-date financial statement, for 2021, said the academy reached its year two forecast of 40 students and anticipated a greater than predicted intake for its third year – with 48 planned places already commissioned and another seven being considered.
The academy is a free school – funded by the Government and not run by a local authority.
Free schools can be established by a charity, a community group, an academy sponsor, parents or a business and have more control over how they do things, like whether to follow the National Curriculum, setting staff pay and conditions and the length of school terms and the school day. They have to follow the same rules on Ofsted inspections, special educational needs and exclusions as other state schools.
