School concrete closures: List of schools affected by ‘crumbly’ RAAC | UK News

Thousands of children across the UK are facing major disruption because of dangerous concrete used in school buildings – which is at risk of sudden collapse.

At least 100 schools will be forced to partially or fully close – just days before pupils are set to return for the new year after the summer holidays.

The schools at risk are those with buildings constructed using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, also known as RAAC, which is a material used from the 1950s until the mid-1990s.

But ministers have admitted they haven’t even contacted all of the schools yet, nor do they know how many will need to completely shut.

Some 104 schools have already been added to the list and the government is coming under increasing pressure to name them as the start of the new term edges ever closer.

Education minister Nick Gibb also conceded that some schools are yet to return surveys on the presence of RAAC, meaning the total number of schools affected could yet rise further.

The bombshell announcement from the Department for Education (DfE) on Thursday has left the parents of 700,000 pupils in the dark over whether or not their child can actually return to school.

With that in mind, many of you will have burning questions over the confusing situation – and whether your child is going to be affected.

We take a look at what it means for pupils after the return to school has been thrown into doubt for thousands.

How many schools will need to shut completely?

When questioned, Mr Gibb told Sky News: ‘We don’t know yet, we are talking to the schools…’

Responding to whether or not schools will need to shut fully, he said: ‘In most cases it will be just a few buildings, or a few rooms, or indeed just a cupboard. But in some cases it will be whole schools.’ 

The government has not released a list of the schools and Mr Gibb said it would be published ‘in due course’, although the delay to do so has been met with criticism from teaching unions, opposing MPs and parents.

He also admitted that not all schools have been contacted as of Friday morning, although ‘the vast majority have’.

Which schools are already affected? The list so far

More than 150 schools and colleges are actually impacted in total already – that’s because around 50 were already suffering from disruption this year and a further 104 were added to the list this week.

The schools we know that are affected include:

• Crossflatts Primary School, Bradford
• Eldwick Primary School, Bradford 
• Cockermouth School, Cumbria
• Ferryhill School, County Durham
• Parks Primary School, Leicester
• Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy, Leicester: To be shut until at least September 5
• Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Brixton, south London
• St Gregory’s Catholic Science College, Brent
• Hockley Primary School, Rochford, Essex
• Mistley Normal Church of England Primary School, Manningtree, Essex
• Springfield Primary School, Chelmsford, Essex
• St Andrews Junior School, Essex
• Kingsdown School, Southend, Essex

At the two schools in Bradford, both interim and long-term alteration works are being carried out to ensure children can be accommodated on the two sites, according to the city council.

The council said interim alterations to safe areas will be finished by Sunday and temporary classrooms on both school sites have been ordered and should arrive within the next 8-10 weeks at Crossflatts and 14-16 weeks at Eldwick.

Emergency repairs have already begun at Crossflats, Abbey Lane Primary School in Sheffield and Willowbrook Mead Academy in Leicester.

How will I know if my child’s school is shutting?

Schools and education centres will inform students and parents directly if their school will be shutting or partially closed.

It’s expected this information will be shared before the start of the new term, such is the case with Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy.

However a number of the schools on the list of those affected have still not been made public.

There could also be further schools added to the list once they return surveys on RAAC usage.

Will my child’s school need to shut if it has RAAC?

Not necessarily. The government has said that many schools affected may only have RAAC in one building – or a small area of a building.

This would mean there would only be a small, partial closure to carry out repairs on the affected area.

Students in schools with that situation should be able to continue their learning with very little disruption – and likely only a handful of classrooms being closed off.

Mr Gibb said: ‘In most cases, children will be able to continue attending school as normal.’

What will happen if my child’s school has RAAC?

The areas of buildings where the concrete has been used will be completely taken out of use and closed off.

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, reports Sky News.

Every school affected by RAAC will be assigned a dedicated DfE caseworker, who will assess the site, what it needs and implement solutions.

That could include using other buildings at the school, local working spaces, introducing safety measures in affected areas and erecting temporary buildings if needed.

Will my child have to switch to remote learning?

Schools were told moving to pandemic-style remote education should only be considered as a ‘last resort and for a short period’.

They have been told by the DfE that they are still expected to deliver ‘face-to-face, high-quality education to all pupils and students other than in exceptional circumstances’.

The DfE said: ‘It should only be used where all options to continue face-to-face education – either on your site, at an alternative, or in temporary accommodation – have been exhausted.’

It added that the work should be ‘high quality, meaningful, ambitious and cover an appropriate range of subjects’.

Will my child need to go to a different school if it shuts completely?

The DfE said a ‘minority’ of schools will need to ‘either fully or partially relocate’ to alternative accommodation while safety measures are installed.

Space in nearby schools, community centres or in an ‘empty local office building’ was recommended for the ‘first few weeks’ while buildings are secured with structural supports.

Should this happen, pupils will likely remain at their normal school, just at a different site.

Should I be worried about RAAC?

Mr Gibb insisted that pupils and parents should not be apprehensive about the risk during the wait for the results.

‘No, they shouldn’t worry, he said. ‘That’s a very cautious approach, so parents can be confident that if they’ve not been contacted by their school it is safe to send children back into school.’

He insisted ‘we took the decision as soon as the evidence emerged’ as ministers faced anger for only telling schools of the closures days before children start the autumn term.

Mr Gibb said ‘over the summer’ they discovered a number of instances where RAAC that had been considered to be low risk ‘actually turned out to be unsafe’.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a ‘beam collapsed’ that had no external signs it was a ‘critical risk’.

The minister said the official guidance was being altered after it triggered additional anger by suggesting schools will have to pay for rental costs for emergency accommodation.

‘We’re going to clarify the guidance because of their misinterpretation, we are paying for those costs,’ he told Today.

‘If in the worst-case scenario a school does have to close and we put Portakabins into the grounds, all that cost will be covered by the department.’

‘An absolute disgrace’

Labour has demanded that the Government names all the affected schools, while National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede slammed the handling of the situation.

He said: ‘It is absolutely disgraceful, and a sign of gross government incompetence, that a few days before the start of term 104 schools are finding out that some or all of their buildings are unsafe and cannot be used.

‘To add insult to injury the government states in its guidance that it will not be covering the costs of emergency temporary accommodation or additional transport.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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