'Nothing short of a scandal' - Government blasted as school buildings made from crumble-risk concrete ordered to close

The government has been strongly criticised by education unions this afternoon (Thursday) over reports that it has advised 'dangerous' schools with buildings constructed with crumble-risk concrete to close with immediate effect. The issue was first revealed yesterday.

Schools in England said to be affected are those that have buildings made with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), which is prone to collapse. In a statement, the Department for Education said it involves 104 schools and has today been called 'nothing short of a scandal' by public service union Unison.

In a statement about the impact of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in school buildings, the Department for Education said: "While building maintenance is the duty of councils and academy trusts, new RAAC cases have reduced the Department for Education’s confidence that school and college buildings with confirmed RAAC should remain open without mitigations in place."

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It said that it was taking the "precautionary and proactive step" to "prioritise safety of children, pupils, and staff ahead of the start of the new term".

Although the vast majority of schools and colleges will be unaffected, the DfE says it "has contacted all 104 further settings where RAAC is currently confirmed to be present without mitigations in place, to ask them to vacate spaces or buildings that are known to contain RAAC."

At the current time, it said just over 50 settings have already been supported to put "mitigations" in place, including additional funding for temporary accommodation.

The DfE has been slammed for allowing 'dangerous' school building to remain open