Under-pressure Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has made a discreet visit to a school affected by crumble-prone concrete after hitting out at “sensationalists” who have asked questions about the crisis.
As thousands of pupils were ordered to stay at home, the Cabinet minister spoke to school leaders and local Conservative MPs in Essex, one of the areas worst hit by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), on Thursday.
She visited the Anglo European School in Ingatestone, which is one of the schools with protective mitigations in place and temporary buildings installed, rather than one of those forced to close completely just as students prepared to return for the new school year.
Ms Keegan ordered more than 100 schools and colleges to make either full or partial closures last week after she received new evidence over the concrete’s collapse risk.
She has provoked anger after she was caught on camera after a broadcast interview asking why no-one says “you’ve done a f****** good job” while “everyone else has sat on their arse and done nothing”.
At a drinks reception in Westminster on Wednesday night, Ms Keegan insisted the critical coverage “really hasn’t bothered me that much because I know I’ve made the right decision”.
“If you know you’ve made the right decision, but they don’t know you’ve made the right decision, and you also know you can manage the implementation, execution of what you need to do, they’re sensationalising it,” she said at the invite-only Conservatives In Communications event.
“They’re not journalists, they’re sensationalists, but I’m more confident that, you know, I just really think it’s the right thing, we’ve made the right decision.”
National broadcasters and reporters were not invited to the school in Essex, as often takes place when ministers carry out public-facing visits, but Ms Keegan did speak to a local newspaper.
She was taken on a tour of the school while wearing a protective hard hat.
Ms Keegan met Conservative colleagues Dame Priti Patel and Vicky Ford, both Essex MPs, at Essex County Council’s headquarters in Chelmsford.
A list published by the Department for Education (DfE) shows 147 schools have been affected so far by Raac, with 19 forced to delay the start of term.
Four have had to switch to remote learning for all students and an additional 20 have had to offer some remote learning.
Six major unions representing school staff have written to Ms Keegan demanding she sets out how many schools suspect having Raac but are yet to have been investigated or surveyed.
We have taken a proactive and cautious response. But I think we should do that. We're talking about children and children's safety going to schools— Science Secretary Michelle Donelan
With the National Education Union, Unison and the National Association of Head Teachers among the signatories, they have also demanded to know the deadline for clearing all schools of the dangerous concrete.
They fear the level of information from the DfE so far may not “reflect the full extent of the problem”.
Ministers have sought to level some blame for a delay in getting the full information together on school leaders.
Ms Keegan told school chiefs on Tuesday yet to respond to a survey on the possible presence of Raac to “get off their backsides” and respond.
But Downing Street said the picture was improving, with only a “small minority” yet to write back.
One school has told parents it was closing while awaiting a verdict from Government-appointed surveyors as to whether Raac is present.
Woodhouse Primary Academy in Quinton, Birmingham, said it was switching to remote learning as they “cannot completely ensure the safety of everyone within the school building at this time”.
Downing Street said it is not aware of other schools shutting while awaiting a survey.
“I don’t believe there’s any requirement to close in advance of a survey,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
Science Secretary Michelle Donelan defended Ms Keegan on Thursday, rejecting any suggestion an overly cautious approach had opened a “Pandora’s box” for other departments with Raac-affected buildings.
“No, absolutely not. We have taken a proactive and cautious response. But I think we should do that. We’re talking about children and children’s safety going to schools. It would be wrong if we did anything but,” she told LBC.
