FURIOUS parents have demanded answers after hundreds of pupils were sent home from a school yesterday due to serious structural problems with its roof.

West Kidlington Primary was closed just hours into the second day of the new school term, despite an inspection over the summer declaring the roof was safe.

New headteacher Simon Isherwood blamed the problems – which are affecting the roof above the main entrance, the hall and year one and two classrooms – on "recent bad weather."

But parents said they had been let down, with the school set to remain closed for at least the rest of the week.

Sophie Haines' six-year-old son Camren has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

She dropped him off as usual yesterday and only found out the school was closed when she checked Facebook.

The 30-year-old said: "I do not understand how it was deemed okay a couple of weeks ago and now it is not okay.

"It is appalling, I am really, really angry.

"Camren relies a huge amount on structure and knowing what is going on in his day.

"He eats a lot more when he is eating school lunches.

"We have been told that they will potentially be back on Monday but what if they are not?

"I am incredibly upset, I am livid."

At the start of the school day yesterday a message signed by Mr Isherwood on the school's Facebook page said the office would be run from the hall due to "a concern" with the roof.

Two hours later another post said the school – which had 450 pupils when last inspected – had closed.

In a letter to parents Mr Isherwood said the school had taken the decision to close to "prioritise the safety of all the children and adults".

Aron Howlett, whose daughter has just started year one, said: "She was buzzing to be back at school and we are just a bit shocked.

"It is disappointing to lose term time if something could have been done earlier.

"My wife works one day a week but for other people in full-time employment it is a big hassle."

Neither Oxfordshire County Council, which is responsible for the school buildings, or the school itself were able to say exactly what was wrong with the roof.

Ms Haines said she believed the problem dated back about five years.

Mr Isherwood said he wanted to praise children and staff for how they handled the closure.

He said: "We need a full structural engineering team in to find out what the problem is.

"We had to close the school to allow us to carry on that investigation.

"Children's safety has been at the forefront of the decision making.

"I know it is at a difficult time for families with children just going back to school and we want to keep the level of disruption at a minimum.

"It is not what I wanted for my second day in post."

In a letter to parents he said he hoped the school would be open with either a full or partial capacity on Monday and promised to keep them informed.

In February 2015 the school missed out on funding to replace temporary classrooms after the county council said it did not meet the criteria.

It was rated inadequate by Ofsted following an inspection in December, which led to it becoming part of The White Horse Federation academy trust.

As of Monday the trust is responsible for education provision at the school but the county council still governs it.

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: "We are working to ensure that we find a solution to this issue as soon as possible

"The school will be made temporarily structurally secure so that additional larger scale work can be immediately undertaken and further investigations can be carried out."