Concrete in schools

[lemonyaid]

How have they only just now decided to close the buildings until they are safe? Has someone been injured?

@BubziOwl and the poor staff breathing it in too

In Essex. We come under the Chelmsford council

Yet another reason I'm grateful we home educate ours.

Many years ago (about 18) I worked in a very old school building that had suspended ceilings. One day, in the middle of a maths lesson, part of the ceiling collapsed along with a load of concrete right onto my desk. I wonder if that was RAAC. Fortunately no-one was hurt and the school has since been demolished.

RAAC was widely used in school buildings between the 50s and 80s. This was a time when loads of old Victorian school buildings were knocked down and replaced. I think all bar one of the 6 different primary schools I've taught in were built in this era, plus the one my DC attend and all except one new school in the town I live. This is possibly just the tip of the iceberg (before you even start considering other buildings constructed in this time period).

I was instructed by health and safety LA officers that the ceiling could come down at any point in the main hall.

We had to have the whole school packed up into boxes and stored with minimal resources kept to use. Some equipment was transported off site, some boxed and moved to classrooms and doors sealed to keep things as clean as possible.
Some classes were transferred to other primary and secondary schools, with staff accompanying children.
Some classes stayed in unaffected classrooms in school but extra doors to meet fire safety had to be put in to allow for exit. (As the hall was the main thoroughfare).
It took months to plan and execute the move out, the work and back again - not a couple of days! - think moving house on a grand scale.

there's 50 schools in Essex affected alone!

Ffs! My sons Secondary school is affected. We've just had an 'urgent message' to say a 'significant part of the school' only year 7 and yr 12 are back in and we're now back to online learning for next week at least.

Great.

Thing is only temporary fixes will be put in place where possible, as not going to be building new schools, replacing a roof. So it will be like all other issues with school buildings, yet another sticking plaster without sorting out the problem, so storing up more issues going forward

Surely it will take much longer than a week?!

It was mentioned in our return to school (secondary) email from the head, but only to reassure us their buildings aren’t affected. I thought that was great as we’re no longer wondering!

We could do our own list!

Scalby School - an Academy in North Yorkshire - the schooling of over 1000 pupils affected.
https://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/news/23762597.school-north-yorkshire-asked-close-concrete-fears/#

A special school in Southend - so difficult given equipment required.

https://www.southend.gov.uk/news/article/2966/dfe-tells-special-school-to-close-immediately-due-to-risk-of-crumbling-concrete

I don't think the schools that closed in April and June have reopened yet.

No, my post above - the work took two terms.

Numbers of schools rising too, another in the north east identified in the last couple of hours.

This is just so shortsighted. The gov could have done a rolling re-build. My daughters school is decreped it floods and roofs collapse with every heavy downpour and its shut for days each time.

The school would be better off being rebuilt on the other side of the site then knocked down. It's not a sturdy Victorian build either.

It's never going to happen

The gov could have done a rolling re-build.

In this case the schools are actively dangerous for the children to enter.

The quick fix will just be RSJ’s so prop up the buildings. Kids are going to be going to school on building sites or shanty schools. Welcome to the U.K. it’s laughable.

I know you said it ‘tongue in cheek’ - but not laughable at all. The absolute horror of a school collapse is unimaginable.

Oh no I meant the state of the U.K. is laughable totally not that schools could collapse on children. I’ve got three children in three different schools. Two schools I know are “safe” one might not be. It’s not funny at all this particular issue.

They should just publish a list.

They haven't got a list.

The BNC's compiling one

*BBC

of schools where announcements have been made, at least

It was mentioned in our return to school (secondary) email from the head, but only to reassure us their buildings aren’t affected. I thought that was great as we’re no longer wondering!

@Emmelina

Don't count on it, we where told yesterday that we didn't have any by our head only to go in this morning to the main building shut as they where doing inspections and had found some. We now have about 16 classrooms out of bounds, they haven't done full inspections on all schools yet and they don't yet have a full list.