Schools facing years of chaos over crumbling Raac concrete, report

Schools that evacuated children due to crumbling concrete face years in portable buildings and temporary classrooms as the government delays funding, according to reports.

There are 231 schools and colleges with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), which the Health and Safety Executive has said is “life expired” and could collapse “with little or no warning”, according to the latest government figures.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan said months ago that the safety of children and staff was a top priority, vowing to fund longer-term refurbishment or rebuilding projects where needed.

But ahead of the new year, many schools have still not been told when their buildings will be fixed, it has emerged.

The Department for Education (DfE) is refusing to commit to funding or even give any timescales for starting work, with building experts estimating that schools will be waiting years for new safe buildings, The Observer reported.

A DfE spokesman told The Independent: “We have committed to fund the removal of Raac from our schools either through grants, or through our School Rebuilding Programme and we will inform schools as soon as possible once our assessments have concluded.”

“We are working closely all affected schools to understand and assess their individual requirements,” they added.

But one headteacher from a northern English school told The Observer: “I can’t get any information. There is no indication of when they will decide, never mind a decision.

“The best result would be rebuilding as we have so many problems, but actually we just need some certainty. Parents like shiny new buildings, and Raac definitely isn’t helping our reputation.

“Some of our windows are badly cracked, but at the moment with our finances getting even worse, we can’t think about replacing them in case the DfE decides to demolish and we’ve then wasted money.”

The headteacher is scared that without a clear plan and government funding, parents will go to other schools instead.

Tim Warneford, a consultant who advises academies on their building, said schools have been told “not to expect anything to happen before 2026”.

Raac is a lightweight form of concrete that was used in construction from the 1950s until the mid-1990s.

It is weaker than regular concrete which is used as a building material and has been described as “80 per cent air” and “like an Aero bar”.

Seventeen more schools and colleges in England were this month found to have the dangerous Raac on site, taking the total to 213.

Currently three secondary schools are providing a mix of face-to-face lessons and remote learning because Raac is present in their buildings.

Meanwhile the DfE’s top official said 41 schools now have temporary buildings on site.