A school has been forced to close six times in three months because its new £358,000 air source heat pump system keeps failing.

The “green” energy source was installed at Kingsnorth Primary in Ashford over the summer as part of a government initiative to help schools cut carbon emissions.

The pump was operational by the time pupils returned in September – but classrooms have been left without power or heating on several occasions, much to the frustration of staff and parents.

The school closed early on November 30 when there was an electrical failure and no gas which meant food could not be provided.

A power failure then closed the primary in Church Hill all day on December 6 and again on January 10, 11, and 12.

The school is part of the Aquila, Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust, which runs 16 schools in Kent.

A Trust spokesperson said: “We apologise for the inconvenience and disruption caused to Kingsnorth Primary School’s pupils and families and we want to assure the community that we have been, and are continuing to, do everything within our power to rectify this situation as quickly as possible.

“Our priority has always been to keep Kingsnorth open, but there have been occasions where we have had no choice but to close due to a complete failure of the heating system, electrical power issues and the associated wider safety concerns.

“Unfortunately, the response and site attendance by contractors hasn’t been as quick as we have needed it to be and we have continued to apply pressure and emphasise that the issues need to be addressed urgently.

“We have had electrical and mechanical engineers on-site testing electrical load capacities, as well as finding an alternative option to have a more robust temporary heating solution in place.”

An air source heat pump works by absorbing heat from the environment, even when temperatures are below freezing, and transferring it inside.

They use renewable energy and are said to be up to 300% more efficient than gas boilers.

The Trust commissioned four of the pumps at its schools as part of the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

As well as the funding for Kingsnorth, Brenzett Church of England Primary on Romney Marsh received £243,945, St George's Church of England Primary in Sheerness received £522,000 and St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy in New Romney received £256,576.

While they have also had what has been described as “teething problems” with their pumps – each of which is fully funded by the government – it has not been on the same scale as Kingsnorth.

Frustration is growing among parents of pupils at the primary.

One mum, who asked not to be named, told KentOnline: "As parents, we are getting annoyed now.

“We keep being told it will get sorted as quickly as possible but it has been going on for too long now...”

"When there is an issue we get random messages during the day to say come pick your children up.

"I work full time I can't always just leave my job. We keep being told it will get sorted as quickly as possible but it has been going on for too long now."

Another mum, who also wanted to remain anonymous, says it is “absurd” that the school keeps having to close.

"I've got two children at the school and I work full time and I'm really worried I'm going to lose my job,” she said.

"I have to rely on friends and family to pick my children up.

"Once I could understand, but for it to happen this many times, they need to get it sorted.

"One of my children is in Year 6 and we are constantly told how important the SATs are, but they have lost five days of learning.”

It is not yet clear when the issues at the Kingsnorth will be resolved, but the Trust says further work to get things back to normal is planned for next week.

“We have planned to install an additional power source for part of the new heating system so we can remove some of the electrical load from the school’s electrics and have the system fully operational as intended,” the spokesperson added.

“These works are planned for the week commencing January 22 while the school remains fully open and operational.

“Once this has been completed, we will have all specialists on-site to reinstate the air source heat pump system.

“Should there be any additional unforeseen issues, we will have the resources to hand to identify and deal with them immediately.”

According to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037.

More than £1.4 billion of grant funding was provided in the latest phase of the scheme.

“The overwhelming majority of people who have installed a heat pump are satisfied with their heating, but those who are experiencing issues must contact the installer.

“Recipients of Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme funding carry out their own procurement process for heating installations once they have received their grant.”