Six education unions ask urgent questions of Gillian Keegan about RAAC-affected schools

 The general secretaries of six unions representing school workers, including heads, teachers and support staff – GMB, NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, UNISON and Unite – have written a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Education calling for an update on the extent of her Department’s research into RAAC-affected schools. They ask six urgent questions:

1. How many schools at risk of RAAC have not had an investigation?
2. How many schools suspect they could have RAAC?
3. How many schools with suspected RAAC have yet to be surveyed?
4. How long does the Government expect it to take for all at-risk schools to be investigated?
5. How long does the Government think it will take for all schools with suspected RAAC to be surveyed?
6. What deadline has been set to clear RAAC from every school?

 

The full text is below:

 

Dear Secretary of State,

 

Last week you published a small amount of information on the progress with the crisis in schools caused by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Your department told us:

• more than 90 per cent of schools are covered by responsible bodies that have completed the RAAC questionnaire (1);
• in 156 schools it was confirmed that RAAC was present (2); and
• 52 of 156 schools have mitigations in place to protect pupils and staff from RAAC. (3)

 

However, this does not appear to reflect the full extent of the problem. In May, the Department for Education (DfE) told the National Audit Office (NAO) (4):

• 86 per cent of schools are covered by responsible bodies that have completed the RAAC questionnaire;
• 14,900 schools are at risk of containing RAAC;
• 6,300 of 14,900 schools had been walked round to identify possible RAAC;
• 572 of 6,300 schools suspected they had RAAC
• 196 of 572 schools had been surveyed to determine if they had RAAC;
• 65 of 196 schools had confirmed RAAC was present; and
• 24 of 65 schools required mitigations to protect pupils and staff from RAAC.

 

We believe it is incumbent on the DfE to update the figures it has published in order to eliminate misunderstanding of the scale of the problem.

 

Using the data the DfE provided to the NAO, we estimate that hundreds more schools could have RAAC (5) and we presume this is why you told the Today programme there could be “hundreds“ more schools with RAAC (6). If the Government does not increase funding for the school rebuilding programme which is currently refurbishing 50 schools a year, then the RAAC problem will not be resolved until the 2030s.

 

Please could you answer the following urgent questions:

1. How many schools at risk of RAAC have not had an investigation?
2. How many schools suspect they could have RAAC?
3. How many schools with suspected RAAC have yet to be surveyed?
4. How long does the Government expect it to take for all at-risk schools to be investigated?
5. How long does the Government think it will take for all schools with suspected RAAC to be surveyed?
6. What deadline has been set to clear RAAC from every school?

 

We would be grateful if you could reply within the next week.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Daniel Kebede
General Secretary, National Education Union

Paul Whiteman
General Secretary, NAHT

Christina McAnea
General Secretary, UNISON

Dr Patrick Roach
General Secretary, NASUWT

Gary Smith
General Secretary, GMB

Sharon Graham
General Secretary, UNITE

RAAC affected St Gregory's School desperately searching for portacabins for next week's school start

 St Gregory's Catholic Science College - Kenton

 

inews is reporting that St Gregory's Catholic Science College is desperately trying to get portacabins for Tuesday's return to school after being informed that they are one of the school's affected by the  government announcement on lightweight concrete (reinforced autoclave aerated concrete - RAAC)  in school buildings. 

I understand that it is the Maths Block at the school that is affected.  Brent Coucil said that efforts are being made to prop up the affected areas and children should be able to return on Tuesday as planned.

Help from the Department of Education has not been quick enough, Barry Gardiner, Labour MP for Brent North, told inews.

The MP said the Department of Education should have been working to help the school, and others affected, to put measures in place swiftly over the summer break.

That work is going on tomorrow and over the weekend – but this is what I mean, the department is leaving this absolutely to the last minute and is trying to say it’s the responsibility of the schools.

No it’s not, it’s the responsibility of the department to be helping the schools. The schools have no budget for this.

 He said three other schools in his constituency were suspected of having RAAC – St Joseph’s Primary, Michael Sobell Sinai School and Kingsbury High School. Those schools require survey work to investigate whether they contain the at-risk material.

Wembley Matters has contacted the school for a statement once parents have been informed of arrangements. 

None of the school's named are the direct responsibility of Brent Council being voluntary aided or academies, but the council does have overall responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of the borough's children.