- School Closures Due to Prone-to-Collapse Concrete
- Criticism of Government’s Handling of School Safety
- Concerns About Wider Building Safety Issues
Labor accuses the government of “staggering incompetence” following the announcement that some school structures must close just as students are preparing to begin the new school year.
England has ordered the closure of school buildings made of a collapse-prone concrete due to Safety issues.
Approximately 104 schools or “settings” will be affected, in addition to the 50 schools or “settings” already affected this year.
The Department of Education (DfE) stated that the overwhelming majority of schools and colleges “will not be affected”. However, Labour criticized the move as a “staggering display of Conservative incompetence.”
Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, or RAAC, is the form of concrete that is causing the closures.
It is the same form of concrete that has been discovered in some unsafe hospitals, prompting Health Secretary Steve Barclay to expedite their inclusion in the government’s hospitals-building program.
Gillian Keegan, secretary of education, told reporters that 156 schools had been identified as having RAAC.
A caseworker has been assigned to 104 of them, and they will be inspected by surveyors.
She said, “We’re taking a safety-first approach and being extremely cautious here.”
“We’ll find the RAAC first, so some kids will be transferred about the building. Some of the buildings’ roofs will be propped up, and some of them will have temporary classrooms,” she explained.
Ms. Keegan advised schools to call DfE but added, “If you don’t hear, don’t worry. This is something that is isolated to those 156 schools.”
She stated that “at some point” the department would compile a list of all affected institutions.
The secretary of state must regain control over her department.
Labour shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson claimed closing schools before the new school year was “failing” students.
She stated, “This is an astounding display of Tory incompetence as they begin a new term by failing our children once more.”
“Dozens of schools in England are in danger of collapsing just days before the influx of students. Ministers have allowed this disorder to persist for far too long.
It is past time for the secretary of state to gain control of her department.
School leaders’ union NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said the revelation is upsetting but not that shocking.
“What we are witnessing here are the very real results of a decade of drastic cuts to school building spending,” he said.
“The government is correct to prioritize the safety of students and employees. If the safety of buildings cannot be guaranteed, they must be closed so that urgent repairs can be made.”
“However, the timing could not be worse, as children return from summer vacations next week.”
Kevin Bentley, the senior vice-chairman of the Local Government Association, stated that the announcement’s timing left schools and the council with “very little time to make urgent adjustments and minimize disruption to classroom learning.”
He demanded that the government immediately establish a task force to address the issue and provide councils with additional funding and technical expertise to restore or replace RAAC-containing buildings.
The DfE said most school sites would stay open for face-to-face instruction, with just RAAC buildings shuttered.
A minority will be required to “completely or partially relocate to alternative housing” while mitigations are implemented.
RAAC has designated ‘unsafe’ certain hospitals.
The government has been aware of RAAC in public sector buildings since 1994, according to the department. But the issue only came to light in 2018 when the roof of a Kent school collapsed.
In that year, the DfE advised schools to have “adequate contingencies” for RAAC evacuations.
In June of this year, the National Audit Office (NAO) stated that a school collapse in England resulting in death or injury was “very likely” but that the government lacked sufficient information to manage “critical” risks to the safety of students and faculty.
Approximately 24,000 school buildings, or more than a third of the total number in England, are beyond their estimated design lifecycle, with school leaders describing the magnitude of building safety issues as “shocking.”
Mr. Barclay’s statement that five new sites would be added to the government’s program to build 40 new hospitals because the presence of RAAC rendered them hazardous to operate “beyond 2030” also raised concerns about the state of British hospitals.
As a priority, five additional sites were added to the program: Airedale General in Keighley, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Hinchingbrooke near Huntingdon, Leighton Hospital in Cheshire, and Frimley Park in Surrey.
