School fined £80,000 after ceiling collapsed injuring children and a teacher

A school has been fined £80,000 after pupils and a teacher were left with fractures and concussions when a classroom ceiling collapsed on top of them.

The Rosemead Preparatory School in Thurlow Park Road, Dulwich, which is part of the Thurlow Educational Trust, was a scene of chaos on November 15, 2021, when a ceiling collapsed in the middle of a lesson.

Tables and chairs being stored in the attic above the classroom were among the falling debris and left 15 children and a teacher with upper limb fractures, cuts and concussions.

Emergency services attended the school following the incident with the class teacher and several pupils taken to hospital for assessment and treatment.

There were 16 pupils in the class but one student was by the doorway when the incident happened.

The trust pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The 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.

The HSE 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. It was fined £80,000 and was today ordered to pay £7,116.31 in costs at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

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.”

Rosemead Preparatory School has been contacted for comment.

Pictured top: Emergency services outside Rosemead Preparatory School after a classroom ceiling collapsed and the chairs and tables that fell on students (Picture: LFB and HSE)