Government told 'come clean' as 104 schools told to shut buildings over concrete fears

Ministers have been urged to “come clean” about the scale of the problems facing England’s school buildings as thousands of pupils faced a disrupted start to term.

More than 100 schools and colleges were told to partially or fully close buildings as children prepared to return to classes after the summer holidays because of fears over concrete which could suddenly collapse.

The Department for Education (DfE) said a minority of the state facilities may have to move completely and some children may be forced back into pandemic-style remote learning.

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But the Government has refused to publicly reveal the 104 education facilities which have been told to shut buildings, and critics warned the problems with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) could be far wider.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told broadcasters: “Most parents should not be worried about this at all.”

But shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “We haven’t seen the full list of schools affected. We don’t know where they are, ministers should come clean with parents and set out the full scale of the challenge that we’re facing.”

Official guidance was issued to schools, school nurseries and colleges – which have been told they will have to fund their own emergency accommodation.

The DfE said it contacted the 104 more schools in the wake of analysis of new cases after 52 of the 156 educational settings containing the concrete took protective steps so far this year.

The department said a “minority” will need to “either fully or partially relocate” to alternative accommodation while safety measures are installed.

But its guidance to schools said