A school has been forced to close for a further two days while engineers assess issues found with a roof.

Bosses at Birchington C of E Primary warned the works will be “extremely disruptive” as improvements to the building started following a successful bid for government funding.

The closure, which started on Thursday morning, comes after the Department for Education recently advised the school, based in Park Lane, to temporarily shut following structural reports.

Parents were reportedly told late on Wednesday night about the arrangements in an email, with the school saying the circumstances are “completely beyond their control”.

The school shut following a visit from surveyors on Monday, June 12 and parents were told this would be for an initial two days.

But in a letter to parents on Friday, head teacher Kathleen Barham said the school needed to be closed for another two days at the start of this week.

It is now due to reopen on Wednesday but part of the school will remain out of action, Ms Barham said.

Setting out the school’s alternative arrangements, Ms Barham said: “Both myself and senior leaders have met with members of the Local Authority and the structural engineers involved.

“In response to this meeting, and the subsequent work that needs to take place, our school will need to remain closed for Monday and Tuesday next week with all pupils returning on Wednesday, June 21.

“All children will be expected to return to school on Wednesday when the school office will be open and all school entrances and exit gates can be used as normal.

“The four days of school closure will not be classed as an absence on your child’s attendance record.

“From now on, some parts of the Quex Building will not be able to be used. These include, the Year 4 and 5 classrooms, pastoral areas, music room and associated corridors and toilets.

“We have spent time today organising where these classes and staff can go so that we can keep disruption to a minimum and the closure of the school for the shortest amount of time possible.”

The letter adds the arrangements will remain in place until the end of June while new classroom facilities are set up.

“We have spent time organising to keep disruption to a minimum and the closure of the school for the shortest amount of time possible...”

Ms Barham added: “We would like to thank you for your support and understanding in regards to these unexpected circumstances.

“The health and safety of all will always be my priority, however I understand the challenges that your child/ren being out of school can bring.”

It is one of four schools to shut across the county – including Sunny Bank Primary in Sittingbourne, Palmarsh Primary in Hythe and St James' Church of England School in Tunbridge Wells.

The closures have come as a result of new criteria being introduced relating to the use of concrete in roof structures according to guidance from the Institute of Structural Engineers.

In a statement on Thursday, Kent County Council (KCC) confirmed the closure had come as a result of structural engineers visiting the school after a successful bid to the Department for Education (DfE) Priority School Building Programme.

A later statement issued on Monday added remedial works were taking place in order for the schools to open as soon as possible.

A spokesman said: “We appreciate the closure of these schools, some of which are maintained by KCC, will be extremely disruptive for pupils, staff, parents and carers.

“We want to reassure them that their safety is always our priority.

“This week, local education authorities across the country were unexpectedly informed by the Department for Education (DfE) that they have adopted new guidelines from the Institute of Structural Engineers, which have resulted in revised evaluation criteria for schools across the UK, regarding structural detailing of roofs and RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete).

“This has necessitated the immediate closure of a small number of schools in Kent, as well as in other counties, while work takes place to make them compliant with the new standards.

“KCC is working closely with the schools affected, some of which are academies or voluntary aided and operate independently of KCC.

“This is to ensure that, wherever possible, we can provide temporary accommodation, to ensure that there is as little disruption as possible to the education of the children and young people affected.

“We expect some of the affected schools to reopen as early as Wednesday following the completion of remedial measures.

“We will prioritise our programme of works across our entire school estate based on the new advice from the DfE.”

Pupils will be able to access home learning toolkits while away from the school.