School buildings to be shut

[Parapapampam]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66673971

1950s - 1990s from what I read. Mainly flat roof buildings.

https://amp.theguardian.com/education/2023/aug/31/what-is-raac-reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-schools-buildings-england-close bit more information

I read that they will fund the repairs but not temporary accommodation etc

The official guidance says things like it may involve “just closing one classroom” - that really does show a massive ignorance at how space is used in schools. Having one classroom out of action for any amount of time, especially in primary schools, will be very difficult to manage.

schools don’t tend to just have spare classrooms sat there

Same thing happened at a high school in Leeds in 2010. After the ceiling came down, they got a new school building by 2012, but large-scale rebuilding hasn't been able to keep up with the number of buildings reaching their end of life.

The thing is, no one built any new schools in the 1990s or early 2000s to speak of, or did the necessary major repairs, so there's now a huge backlog of buildings that haven't been fit for purpose since the 70s or 80s that need demolishing and rebuilding. Look at how many of them have dangerously-located asbestos. Or on a more minor scale, the number of schools with roof leaks when it rains. Or who still have wall-to-wall single-glazing windows that bake the kids in summer and freeze them in winter. Or are bursting at the seams so badly they're using a load of Portakabins as regular classrooms. I think the environment children learn in is so important to inspire a love of learning.

We had this aerated concrete at my old high school. We found it hilarious that we could hit the wall panels and they sounded like bongoes. None of us had any idea it was a timebomb.

The other thing that occurs to me is just how long it's going to take to build an entire new school for each of the affected schools. These kids are going to be out of school for months, potentially a year or more.

How does that jive with the law on right to education? Surely the government should be taking out contracts on hotels or something else that could be used to accommodate children's learning, or reallocating students to as many nearby schools as they can find school places in? Or doing /something/?

They shouldn't just be telling them to stay at home. This year's A-level cohort has been absolutely shafted already by lockdown with none of the allowances made for the last two academic years.

Two local secondaries have just announced they are not going to open because of this. DS starts reception next week but the school was built in 1914 (when cheap corners weren't cut) and so not affected.

The BSF programme was supposed to sort this out, wasn’t it? If only it hasn’t been scrapped by - guess who? - Michael Gove in 2010. Twat.

Schools were assessed in June and knew then if they had RAAC. My school didn't have it but was checked by surveyors. A nearly school had a small collapse and the kids were shipped out to other local schools.

Schools were told to assess themselves and fill out a questionnaire.

The DfE had to then phone schools and ask why they hadn’t done it.

This list has been out since June. Schools who were on it knew before they broke up.

Schools have literally just been told that they need to be closed immediately.

Our school was built in that period and work was being carried out on the roof from July - not sure it had anything to do with this - it it does make me wonder.

Exactly the same with ours @MissGroves . Now thinking this must be connected!

They haven't. At least not in our LA. We all saw the list in June with LA schools having the work scheduled by the LA. I don't work in an academy, so wouldn't know how theyre affected, but this isn't new about the concrete, any academy that's taken a school on in the last 5 years should have covered it as part of their due diligence.

I work in a group of 4 maintained schools, one known to be affected 3 years ago and is currently being rebuilt, with the school having moved into a new purpose built building last Easter.

There might have been a list but that is not necessarily the same thing as being told to close immediately.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4703940-risk-of-school-buildings-in-england-collapsing-upgraded-to-very-likely?reply=122494386

Yet Gillian Keegan maintains they only realised in June of this year there was an issue?
Not much traction on that thread, either. Presumably people on MN put their heads in the sand about it, as well as the Government.

My dc primary had roofing works start the first day of the summer holiday. The building is still surrounded in scaffolding and the works are expected to take at least another week into the new term.

No idea if it's as part of this situation, most likely! But it's taking a good while to be rectified.

School roofs seem to leak a lot! So roof repairs may not be linked to this

They haven't.

They have. That's literally the news story. There are headteachers on twitter saying that they've just been told to close. Gillian Keegan has been talking about new information that meant the decision had to be made to close the schools.

There was also on twitter one report of a school that had kids back already that had to send them home.

But they've know for years, if they didn't do anything...

It’s only in England schools are required to close, I assume the material wasn’t used in Wales? (Yeh right!).

FOI requests on google to Cardiff council in 2018 and 2023 indicate they have no idea where it is. Inspiring! At least in England they are acting (albeit late in the day).

Well, they have been told to close suddenly around here. Just a few days ago, the government were telling them it would be fine to open and now they’ve been told they must close.

Nick Gibb is saying they have been relying on new expert evidence which probably means they were hoping to find a way to wriggle out of it but have been told there is no way they can legally do that.

Yes, the government have known for years that there's an issue.

A school roof collapsed in 2018 and it is only through pure luck that it didn't kill anyone.

5 years on they are closing schools unexpectedly and without notice because they've suddenly decided that they can't get away with pretending that it's not dangerous anymore.

DD’s main school building was built in 1876 however the nursery/reception building is newer. Hopefully it’s not one of the affected ones.