More than 100 schools, nurseries and colleges in England have been told by the Government to close classrooms and other buildings that contain an aerated concrete that is prone to collapse.
A “minority” of the state facilities will need to “either fully or partially relocate” to alternative accommodation while safety measures are installed, the Department for Education (DfE) said.
The department has contacted 104 settings which do not currently have mitigations in place to vacate spaces containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Unions and opposition parties criticised the Government for failing to take action sooner, as schools were being shuttered ahead of the return from the summer break.
Guidance issued to schools said they should find emergency or temporary accommodation for the “first few weeks” until buildings are made safe with structural supports.
Space in nearby schools or space in community centres or an “empty local office building” was recommended.
They were told that moving to pandemic-style remote education should only be considered as a “last resort and for a short period”.
Some 52 of the 156 educational settings containing the concrete have taken protective steps already this year.
Today we’ve published new guidance for education settings impacted by Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
— Department for Education (@educationgovuk) August 31, 2023
Here’s everything you need to know about RAAC and how we’re supporting schools and colleges to manage it safely ⬇️https://t.co/3ZaKz89MtK
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “Nothing is more important than making sure children and staff are safe in schools and colleges, which is why we are acting on new evidence about RAAC now, ahead of the start of term.
“The plan we have set out will minimise the impact on pupil learning and provide schools with the right funding and support they need to put mitigations in place to deal with RAAC.”
Funding will be provided for essential immediate works and to support the provision of temporary buildings for affected schools and colleges, the DfE said.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said the “news is shocking, sadly it is not hugely surprising”.
“What we are seeing here are the very real consequences of a decade of swingeing cuts to spending on school buildings,” he said.
“The Government is right to put the safety of pupils and staff first – if the safety of buildings cannot be guaranteed, there is no choice but to close them so urgent building work can take place.
“But there is no escaping the fact that the timing of this couldn’t be worse, with children due to return from the summer holidays next week.”
Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson hit out at an “absolutely staggering display of Tory incompetence”.
“Dozens of England’s schools are at risk of collapse with just days before children crowd their corridors. Ministers have been content to let this chaos continue for far too long,” she said.
“It’s long past time the Secretary of State got a grip on her department. Labour knows that children can’t get a first-class education in a second-class school, it’s incredible that the Tories don’t.”
The Government should have put in place a programme to identify and remediate this risk at a much earlier stage
Association of School and College Leaders policy director Julie McCulloch said the “scramble” to take action ahead of the return to schools was vital but “hugely disruptive”.
“It has taken the Government far too long to act on a risk of this seriousness,” she said.
“The Government should have put in place a programme to identify and remediate this risk at a much earlier stage.”
The Unison public service union’s head of education Mike Short said the “situation is nothing short of a scandal” and will “create turmoil for thousands of families”.
“The DfE and Government have squandered valuable months hiding this crisis when they should have been fixing dangerous school buildings,” he said.
The DfE said it would not be disclosing how many schools will be told to close completely.
RAAC is a lightweight building material used up to the mid-1980 but has since been assessed to be at risk of collapse.
Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Munira Wilson added: “This shocking admission is a concrete result of years of Conservative neglect of our school buildings.
“Parents, teachers and pupils will be horrified that children have been taught in unsafe buildings and cannot return to school next week.”
