One sentence summary – A crisis involving reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has impacted UK schools, with some parents expressing concern about the delay in addressing the issue, while others support the efforts for safety reasons; investigations are ongoing at affected schools, and the Department of Education has stated that mitigations are already in place for some cases to minimize disruptions to education.
At a glance
- A crisis involving reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has impacted UK schools just before the start of term.
- William Cassidi C Of E Primary School in Stillington is awaiting the results of a concrete survey to determine if RAAC is present in their building.
- The Department for Education is providing guidance to the school during this time.
- Some parents have expressed concern about the delay in addressing the RAAC issue.
- Over 100 schools have been told to close due to the deteriorating concrete issue, but disruptions to children’s education are being kept to a minimum.
The details
A crisis involving reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has impacted UK schools just before the start of term.
One of the schools affected is William Cassidi C Of E Primary School in Stillington.
The school is currently awaiting the results of a concrete survey to determine if RAAC is present in their building.
The Department for Education is providing guidance to the school during this time.
Parents will be informed once the report is released.
In the past year, the school had two surveys completed with no RAAC identified.
Some parents have expressed concern about the delay in addressing the RAAC issue.
They questioned why the issue wasn’t addressed sooner.
Other parents have supported the efforts to address the issue for safety reasons.
However, they felt it should have been done earlier.
One parent raised concerns about the impact on children’s well-being.
They questioned why the issue wasn’t addressed during the pandemic.
A resident from Middlesbrough believed that multiple governments were at fault for allowing the use of RAAC in schools.
One mother with children at William Cassidi C Of E Primary School expressed confidence in the school’s handling of the situation.
She felt informed about the situation.
Other schools potentially containing RAAC include Frederick Nattrass Primary Academy and St Michael’s Catholic Academy.
Both schools have confirmed that RAAC is not present in their buildings.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan sent a letter to MP Alex Cunningham.
The letter listed three schools in his constituency as potentially containing deteriorating concrete material.
St Michael’s Catholic Academy confirmed that they had no deteriorating material in their building.
The school was fully demolished and rebuilt in 2016.
St Michael’s Catholic Academy clarified that it was placed on the watchlist in error.
The school wanted to ensure that parents were not unnecessarily worried.
Investigations are ongoing at the other two schools named in the letter.
Alex Cunningham criticized the ministers for being clueless.
He called for them to address the issue and provide confidence to parents and teachers.
The deteriorating concrete issue has caused chaos for parents and teachers.
Over 100 schools have been told to close.
The Department of Education has stated that 52 out of the 156 identified cases already have mitigations in place.
Disruptions to children’s education are being kept to a minimum.
Article X-ray
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A school building made of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) with cracks appearing on its walls.
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| gazettelive.co.uk |
|---|
| – Schools in the UK were affected by a crisis related to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) just before the term began. |
| – William Cassidi C Of E Primary School in Stillington is one of the schools awaiting the results of a concrete survey to determine if RAAC is present. – |
| The school is following guidance from the Department for Education and will inform parents once the report is released. |
| – |
| The school had two surveys completed in the last year with no RAAC identified. |
| – Some parents expressed concern about the delay in addressing the issue and questioned why it wasn’t done sooner. |
| – Others supported the efforts to address the issue for safety reasons but felt it should have been done earlier. |
| – One parent mentioned concerns about the impact on children’s well-being and questioned why it wasn’t addressed during the pandemic. – |
| A resident from Middlesbrough believed that multiple governments were at fault for allowing the use of RAAC in schools. – One mother with children at the school expressed confidence in the school’s handling of the situation and felt informed. – Other schools, including Frederick Nattrass Primary Academy and St Michael’s Catholic Academy, were also listed as potentially containing RAAC but have confirmed that it is not present. – |
| The Department for Education stated that many of the identified cases of RAAC already have mitigations in place and that disruption to children’s education is being minimized. |
| thenorthernecho.co.uk |
|---|
| – Education Secretary Gillian Keegan sent a letter to MP Alex Cunningham listing three schools in his constituency as potentially containing deteriorating concrete material. |
| – St Michael’s Catholic Academy confirmed that they had no deteriorating material in their building as it was fully demolished and rebuilt in 2016. – |
| The school clarified that it was placed on the watchlist in error and wanted to ensure that parents were not unnecessarily worried. – Investigations are ongoing at the other two schools named in the letter. |
| – Alex Cunningham criticized the ministers as being clueless and called for them to address the issue and provide confidence to parents and teachers. – Over 100 schools were told to close due to the deteriorating concrete issue, causing chaos for parents and teachers. – |
| The Department of Education stated that 52 of the 156 identified cases already have mitigations in place, and disruptions are being kept to a minimum. |
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