Parents tell of anger as concrete crisis closes schools - and it could get worse
Parents were left in limbo yesterday as some schools shut their classrooms over fears of crumbling concrete.
Thousands of children were unable to return to lessons after the summer holidays over concerns reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete could disintegrate and collapse. Many youngsters are due to go back today after the six-week break. But disruption could last months as experts race to assess schools and replace Raac where it is installed. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
The crisis could deepen as more surveys report their findings. A mother said she was “absolutely devastated” to learn her daughter would not be returning to school as expected, which “means juggling childcare, juggling work”. Jill Simpson, 51, received an email on Friday saying St Leonard’s Catholic School, Durham, would not reopen because a survey found Raac had been used in its construction.
The school confirmed teaching would be online for the foreseeable future. Ms Simpson, whose daughter is starting Year 10, said: “I think the Government should have jumped on this as soon as they found out - as soon as Raac was found in the schools, there should have been things put in place.
“I just think we could have heard something sooner. Why wait until literally four days before they are due to go back to school? It’s not fair on the children not to know where they stand. My daughter’s grades are slipping due to loss of school and teachers’ strikes and Covid, so we now have to get a private tutor for maths for her to start with to bump her grades back up.”
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Altrincham College is one of the many educational buildings that have shut down in concrete scare (William Lailey SWNS)Sunny Bank Primary, in Sittingbourne, Kent, was forced to close temporarily in June over Raac concerns. Remedial works remained unfinished yesterday(MON) as the new term began. Mum Sam Jenkins, whose kids aged five and six attend Sunny Bank, said: “The night before it happened we got a last-minute email saying we had a slight issue with the main hall and they had to move some classes due to structural issues flagged by the council.”
A builder was seen leaving the site on Monday as youngsters returned - and parents remained unsure whether classes would be affected. Pregnant mum-of-four Sam added: “I was worried they weren’t going to open - I assumed it would all be fixed over the summer holidays.
“I would have thought six weeks was enough over the holidays; but then I’m no builder. You would have thought [the Government] would have acted on it straight away. They say about education being important, and this is about health and safety.” Retail assistant Steph Appleton, 33, who has two kids aged eight and five at the school, said: “All that time the Government has known about (the dangers) - for years and years and hundreds of schools affected.
“You’d think if they’d known about it they would have acted on it sooner.” St James Catholic School, Hebburn, South Tyneside, will not reopen today. Headmistress Francesca Heslop told parents: “Your child’s education is paramount to us, and we are committed to continuing to educate pupils face to face or make virtual provision where this is not possible.
“Unfortunately, the school will need to be closed on Tuesday, September 5. This hasn’t been an easy decision to make, but we will be working to finalise arrangements in order to move forward collectively.” In Birmingham, Aston Manor Academy headteacher Jill Sweeney told parents: “We appreciate the concern this may raise, but we will always prioritise the safety of our school community.
“We are working to ensure that the impact on students is kept to an absolute minimum.” Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Tony Ball, said: “Mitigation measures will already be in place at a number of schools and plans will be put in place for others. We are also working with academies to establish how they are affected.”
A primary school in Norfolk delayed the start of term amid concerns about the material. Norfolk County Council Cabinet Member for Children’s Services Penny Carpenter said: “On Friday we were contacted by the Thomas Bullock academy school in Shipdham, where Raac was found in the school hall.
The schools that have been hit (Daily Mirror)“The start of term has been delayed by a day to enable checks to take place.” Luke Whitney, headteacher at Mayflower Primary School, Leicester, which is partially closed due to Raac, said pupils were “resilient” and adapted well to changes caused by the problems.
The school was forced to close in April but managed to bring back pupils after a fortnight when temporary solutions were found. Two schools in Wales will be closed to pupils at the start of term due to concerns about its buildings. Ysgol David Hughes and Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi in Anglesey told pupils to stay home so “further safety inspections can be carried out”.
Unions said schools were “managing the anxiety” of parents on behalf of the Government and deserved to know how the crisis emerged. Leaders of education and public sector unions wrote to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan demanding urgent answers on the “emergency” - including over funding.
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The letter says: “It cannot be right that school leaders and their teams are charged with making decisions about the immediate risk of harm if they discover or are concerned that Raac is present on their site. They do not have the relevant expertise to make such assessments.”
The general secretaries of school leaders’ union NAHT, the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Education Union, the NASUWT teaching union, the GMB and Unison have signed the letter. It adds: “Our members are managing the anxiety of parents and carers on behalf of Government. The least they are entitled to know, with confidence, is how they ended up in this situation when the Government knew of the risks long ago.”
Schools partially or fully closed over collapse fears
ESSEX
Hockley Primary School, Rochford
Mistley Norman Church of England Primary School, Manningtree
St Andrews Junior School, Hatfield Peverel
Kingsdown School, Southend-on-Sea
Stanway Fiveways Primary School, Colchester
Honeywood Community School, Braintree
Baynards Primary School, Tiptree
Thurstable School, Tiptree
Winter Gardens Academy, Canvey Island
Woodville Primary School, South Woodham Ferrers
The Gilberd School, Colchester
The Appleton School, Benfleet
Katherines Primary Academy, Harlow
White Hall Academy, Clacton-on-Sea
The Ramsey Academy, Halstead
Ravens Academy, Clacton-On-Sea
St Clere's School, Stanford-le-Hope
East Bergholt High School, Colchester
East Tilbury Primary School
Hatfield Peverel Junior School, Chelmsford
LEICESTERSHIRE
Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy, Leicester
Parks Primary School, Leicester
Mayflower Primary School, Leicester
LONDON
Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Brixton
St Gregory's Catholic Science College, Brent
The Ellen Wilkinson School, Acton
St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive, Eltham
The Link School, Beddington
KENT
St Bartholomew's Catholic Primary School
EAST AND WEST SUSSEX
Greenway Junior School, Horsham
SURREY
The Link School
WEST YORKSHIRE
Crossflatts Primary School, Bradford
Eldwick Primary School, Bradford
SOUTH YORKSHIRE
Abbey Lane Primary School, Sheffield
NORTH YORKSHIRE
Scalby School, Scarborough
GREATER MANCHESTER
St William of York Catholic Primary School, Bolton
Canon Slade School, Bolton
St Bernard's School, Bolton
COUNTY DURHAM
Ferryhill School, Ferryhill
St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College, Easington
St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham
St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Darlington
Carmel College and Sixth Form, Darlington
St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston
Byron Sixth Form Peterlee, Easington
St James Catholic Primary, Hebburn
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Holy Trinity Catholic Academy, Newark
Carnarvon Primary School, Bingham
WEST MIDLANDS
Wood Green Academy, Wednesbury
Aston Manor Academy, Birmingham
Pershore High School, Worcestershire
CUMBRIA
Cockermouth School, Cockermouth
WARWICKSHIRE
Ayelsford School, Warwick
Myton School
Outwoods Primary School, Atherstone
TYNE & WEAR
St Anne's Catholic Primary School, Gateshead
St James Catholic Primary School, Hebburn
St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Sunderland
Councils in West Sussex, Worcestershire, Isle of Wight, Warrington and Cornwall have confirmed that none of their schools have been affected.
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