More than one in seven English schools affected by dilapidated concrete were previously denied government funding to be rebuilt despite being deemed in emergency need, Guardian analysis of official data has shown.
An executive at one academy chain that wanted to rebuild a secondary school that uses buildings up to 80 years old, said they were shocked at being denied funding – and now faced having to teach students remotely until at least Christmas.
It has already emerged that more than half of the English schools that applied to the Department for Education’s flagship schools rebuilding programme as an “exceptional case”, meaning they are so run down that some buildings are at risk of imminent closure, were denied money.
Of these schools, 22 feature on the DfE’s list of schools deemed in danger because they were built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), a lighter, cheaper variant with a limited lifespan. That is 15% of the 147 schools affected.
Among the 22 is Scalby school, a secondary academy in Scarborough, where one part of the estate dates from 1942. It applied to the DfE’s rolling 10-year building programme as an exceptional case but was refused.
Michael McCluskie, the head of learning at the Coast and Vale Learning Trust, which runs Scalby, said the school was turned down in part because it could not contribute enough of its own money to the project, after having been asked to take two failing schools into the chain.
Much of the rest of the school dates from the late 1960s, peak period for Raac construction. This was already known about, and mitigated in some places using roof supports.
McCluskie said that up until directly before the new term, the assumption was the school could open as normal, until the DfE phoned them with the new alert over Raac.
Large parts of the school are now not usable, including the PE block, dining room and assembly hall. The start of term has been delayed until next week, with one year group sent to another school in the chain, and other years likely to be timetabled on to a “carousel” of part online and part in-person learning.
The school hopes to install 17 temporary classrooms and meeting rooms, but with a waiting time of up to 12 weeks to install electricity and other utilities, the disruption was likely to last until Christmas, McCluskie said.
“At the moment, I can’t see any likelihood of normality this term,” he told the Guardian. “In some ways it’s a worse crisis than it was in the pandemic. It’s the sheer uncertainty of what we’re going to be able to do.
“I don’t think some parts of the school will ever be able to open normally. We feel like we slipped through the net. In some ways it’s like we’ve lost out because the schools looks so well maintained.”
The school, like others affected by Raac, has been allocated a DfE caseworker to help make interim arrangements.
Meanwhile, six unions representing heads, teachers and school support staff have written a joint letter to the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, demanding an update on how many more schools may be affected by Raac.
The letter says the information published so far by the DfE, which shows Raac confirmed in 156 education establishments, does “not appear to reflect the full extent of the problem”.
Based on data the DfE previously provided to the National Audit Office, the unions say they believe hundreds more schools could have Raac. The letter was signed by leaders from the GMB, NASUWT, NAHT, NEU, Unison and Unite.
A DfE spokesperson said: “We consulted with responsible bodies on the criteria for the schools rebuilding programme and all nominations with exceptional need verified against that criteria, were included. That means the schools with buildings in the worst condition are already being addressed.
“The department has taken action to select 400 schools with the greatest need, with 100 more yet to be confirmed. Where there is a significant issue with a building that cannot be managed within local resources, we provide additional support on a case-by-case basis.”
• This headline of this article was amended on 7 September 2023 to use the word “urgent” instead of “emergency” as “emergency funding” has a specific meaning in the context of school funding.
