The government has admitted that the number of schools forced to close over dangerous crumbling concrete is likely to rise – as teachers and parents were braced for years of disruption over the issue.
As school leaders prepared for a weekend dash to inspect more buildings and put in temporary measures before next week’s back-to-school rush, Nick Gibb admitted there “may be more” schools, nurseries and colleges affected by the chaos, on top of the 156 already identified.
The schools minister also conceded that some parents are still in the dark about whether their children will return to classrooms after the summer break, with some schools still unaware they will have to close.
Amid warnings the number of affected schools could rise to more than 1,000, the government faced mounting questions about how many more children would be forced out of classrooms – and why ministers hadn’t acted sooner.
In other developments:
- Mr Gibb said the chaos had been sparked by the collapse of a supposedly “safe” concrete beam
- He refused to publish the full list of schools affected by the issue – saying it was right for parents to hear directly from the schools
- Parents said they were warned the disruption could last for years to come
- Fears were raised the crisis could be UK-wide, with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) found in at least 37 schools in Scotland
- Experts warned the problem could be far wider, with offices, courts, hospitals and factories at risk
- An economist warned each building might cost £5m to replace – leaving the government with a huge bill
In a shocking admission on Friday morning, Mr Gibb said only the “vast majority” of schools had been informed they would have to close.
Items are cleared from Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy in Leicester, which was forced to closed over safety fears— (Joseph Walshe / SWNS)
“We have been calling them yesterday, but there are a few more that we’re calling today, and those schools are now talking to parents about what’s going to happen in their school,” he told the BBC.
But despite thousands of pupils and staff now expected to be unable to return to school, Mr Gibb refused to publish a full list of those affected. “We want the parents to hear from the school, not to read about it in the media first,” he said.
He also said more schools may be forced to shut classrooms as the Department for Education (DfE) gathers more evidence about the presence of RAAC, with some schools still expected to return surveys about the presence of the material.
People leave the school in Leicester with chairs and other items after it was closed— (SWNS)
Thousands of pupils across the country will be forced to resume their studies either online or in temporary facilities, after the government ordered more than 100 schools to close immediately following fears over the concrete, described as “80 per cent air” and “like an Aero Bar”.
The dangerous material was used to construct schools, colleges, and other buildings between the 1950s and mid-1970s in the UK, but has since been found to be at risk of collapse.
The government said that of the 156 schools found to contain RAAC, 104 require urgent action, while 52 have already received repair works.
One of those was Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy in Leicester, which received news that it had to close on Thursday – days after pupils went back after the summer break.
“My understanding is they literally evacuated the place,” parent Raj Kaur told The Independent. “The first most parents knew about it was when we arrived for pick-up. All the children were out on the field. It was awful. Children were crying.”
Roughly half of Willowbrook Mead – a 470-pupil school serving an area of high deprivation – is made of the concrete in question. Most pupils will now learn online for the next 10 days before two entire year groups – 3 and 4 – are moved to two other city schools. Years 5 and 6, meanwhile, will be squashed into spare classrooms and shared areas away from the danger zone.
Some parents say teachers have told them it could be well into 2025.
“If they’d made this decision in July, the headteacher could have made other plans and we wouldn’t now be rushing around trying to make the best of an absolutely awful situation,” said mother of five Laura Smith.
“There’d still be disruption but it would be far less because everyone would have had six weeks to prepare.”
Meanwhile, Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at the Building Cost Information Service, warned each affected building may cost £5m or more to replace based on its data – which could amount to a cost of £500m.
“Any buildings which have this material as part of their fabric should be inspected regularly, suitably protected, and buildings with this material should ultimately be replaced,” he said.
And a schools estates manager told the Guardian that the tally of those affected in some way could reach 1,000, adding that the crisis could see children being taught in temporary buildings for up to a decade.
After sending questionnaires to schools last year asking if they had RAAC, the DfE received 6,300 responses and identified 572 in which RAAC may be present. As of May, RAAC had been confirmed in 65 schools.
But figures from the National Audit Office (NAO) showed 8,600 schools, more than half of those sent questionnaires, had not responded, not completed work or were unaware of the risks posed by RAAC.
Labour accused housing secretary Michael Gove of starting the “neglect” of schools that led to the collapsing concrete crisis.
In an article for The Independent, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson slammed Mr Gove’s decision to scrap the last Labour government’s school-building programme, saying it was “the death knell of ambition for our children”.
The move was “the first sign of the neglect that was to come”, she wrote, accusing ministers of having “no strategy” to ensure school sites are “up to scratch”.
The head of school leaders’ union the NAHT said it had “repeatedly raised concerns about these buildings for a long time” so the news was “shocking but not hugely surprising”.
Paul Whiteman also called for “a proper programme of repairs and re-building right across the school estate”.
Experts warned the RAAC crisis could reach far wider than school buildings, with offices, court houses, hospitals, and factories at risk of “sudden and catastrophic collapse” if it is not removed.
Mr Gibb said the government was rebuilding seven hospitals due to extensive use of RAAC and would be surveying buildings “right across” the public sector.
And teachers union the NASUWT said the closure of some schools “will raise questions about the safety of other schools”.
The union also said school closures raise questions about “whether the government could and should have done more to prevent this situation arising in the first place”.
The government has not identified the schools but the list also includes: Parks Primary, Mayflower Primary School and Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy in Leicester; Cranbourne College in Basingstoke; Crossflatts Primary School and Eldwick Primary School in Bradford; and Abbey Lane Primary School in Sheffield.
Labour has called for an “urgent audit” into the government’s handling of public sector buildings containing concrete that could suddenly collapse.
Deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “The safety of the public is not being taken seriously by this reckless Tory government. If public safety is at risk, we need to know urgently.
“An urgent, full audit is required to find out the extent that Conservative ministers failed to replace this dangerous concrete across the public sector estate.”
