Teachers and parents were braced for years of chaos on Friday as schools grapple to replace potentially dangerous crumbling concrete in buildings.
As school leaders prepared for a weekend dash to inspect more buildings, the minister in charge Nick Gibb admitted parents are still in the dark over closures – and even more schools could be forced shut.
Mr Gibb said not all 104 schools which will be forced to close have been told – meaning some parents do not yet know whether their children will return as planned after the summer break.
And as fears were raised the number of affected could reach 1,000, questions were swirling about how many more children would be forced out of classrooms.
On a day of chaos as parents prepare to send their kids back to school:
- Mr Gibb said the number of affected schools could increase, with fears it could reach over 1,000
- The minister admitted the chaos had been sparked by the collapse of a supposedly “safe” concrete beam
- Unions slammed the government’s handling of the crisis, claiming to have been warning about the dangers of RAAC for “a long time”
- Parents were left in the dark, with some schools having not been told they would have to close
- Ministers refusedto publish a list of affected schools
- Fears were raised the crisis could be UK-wide, with RAAC found in at least 37 schools in Scotland
- Experts warned the problem could be far wider than schools, with offices, court houses, hospitals, and factories at risk
- An economist warned each building might cost £5m or more to replace
- Labour accused Michael Gove of starting the “neglect” of schools that led to collapsing concrete crisis.
In a shocking admission on Friday morning, Mr Gibb said only the “vast majority” of schools had been informed they would have to close.
“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.
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But despite thousands of pupils and staff expected to be unable to return to school, Mr Gibb is refusing to publish a full list of those affected.
Pressed on why, Mr Gibb said parents would instead be informed school by school.
“We want the parents to hear from the school, not to read about it in the media first,” he said.
He promised a list would then be published, but declined to commit to when.
It came as Mr Gibb revealed a collapsed beam at one school was the source of the chaos.
Asked about reports of a school building which was thought to be safe collapsed over the summer, he said: “A beam collapsed that had no external sign that it was at critical risk.”
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 a type of 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 Fifties and mid-Seventies in the UK, but has since been found to be at risk of collapse.
In total, the government said 156 schools were found to contain RAAC, of which 104 require urgent action while 52 have already received repair works.
Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at the Building Cost Information Service, warned each building might cost £5m or more each 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, and said the crisis could see children being taught in temporary buildings for as long as 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 promised.
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 Michael Gove of starting the “neglect” of schools that led to 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 has “repeatedly raised concerns about these buildings for a long time” so the news was “shocking but not hugely surprising”.
Paul Whiteman said: “The government is right to put the safety of pupils and staff first – if the safety of buildings cannot be guaranteed, there is no choice but to close them so urgent building work can take place.
“But there is no escaping the fact that the timing of this couldn’t be worse, with children due to return from the summer holidays next week.”
He 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”.
General secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “Pupils returning to schools next week should be brimming with optimism not uncertainty about their futures. Children and young people should not be facing the prospect of having their education disrupted as a result of lack of investment and foresight from the Government.
“It is a disgrace that, despite Ministers’ promises to the contrary, there are any schools in such poor condition and state of repair and in danger of collapse.”
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”.
Mr Gibb also said more schools may be forced to shut classrooms as the Department for Education (DfE) gathers more evidence about the presence of RAAC.
“There may be more after that as these questionnaires continue to be surveyed and we continue to do more surveying work,” he told GB News.
At one school, parents of children with special needs were called just days before the start of the new term to be told it had to shut as it is fitted with RAAC.
Louise Robinson, headteacher of Kingsdown School in Southend, Essex, called parents of students, who are aged between three and 14 and have severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties, physical disabilities and associated learning difficulties, on Thursday to tell them the news that the school will be closed next week.
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; Abbey Lane Primary School in Sheffield.
Ms Robinson said: “Instead of preparing to welcome our students back to class, we’re having to call parents to have very difficult conversations about the fact the school is closed next week.
“We’re hoping that a solution can be found that allows us to open the school, at least partially, but that entirely relies on ensuring the safety of our pupils and staff, and approval by DfE.”
And Labour slammed Mr Gibb over claims the government is acting as quickly as possible to solve the crisis.
Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said it was “disingenuous in the extreme”.
He said as schools minister in 2018 Mr Gibb would have been aware of the ”critical” situation with RAAC and the risk of schools collapsing.
He added: “So it is disingenuous in the extreme for him to be touring the studios this morning, throwing up his hands and claiming he knew nothing about this problem. They had report after report after report telling them they needed to act.
“They did nothing because of their inaction. This morning, students are facing the prospect of school term starting when they have no school to go to. It’s absolute incompetence.”
