How will I know if my child's school is shutting over concrete safety fears?

Dozens of schools face disruption or closure just as term is about to start over fears about the safety of concrete used in buildings.

The type of concrete forcing the closures is Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, known as RAAC.

It is the same type of concrete that has been found in some hospitals that have been deemed to be unsafe, prompting Health Secretary Steve Barclay to fast-track them into the government’s hospitals-building programme.

Here’s what we know so far.

How will I know if my child’s school is closing?

Schools and other education settings will let you know directly if there is any change to the start of term.

Around 104 education “settings” – including schools, colleges and nurseries – are affected. They have all been notified.

Not all affected schools need to close.

Some may just have the concrete in one building, for example, resulting in the closure of a small number of classrooms.

Others may be able to continue education with very little disruption if the concrete is in a small enough area.

“In most cases, children will be able to continue attending school as normal,” the Department for Education (DfE) said.

What will happen in affected schools?

Where RAAC has been used in school buildings, affected areas will be taken out of use.

Guidance issued to schools said they should find emergency or temporary accommodation for the “first few weeks” until buildings are made safe with structural supports.

All affected schools will be assigned a dedicated DfE caseworker, who will help assess the site’s needs and put solutions in place.

This could include using other on-site buildings or local spaces, putting in place safety measures in the affected area and, in some cases, erecting temporary buildings.

Schools and colleges are still expected to deliver “face-to-face, high-quality education to all pupils and students other than in exceptional circumstances”, the DfE said.

Will schools switch to remote learning?

Pandemic-style remote learning is a last resort that should only be used for short periods, the government has told schools.

“It should only be used where all options to continue face-to-face education – either on your site, at an alternative, or in temporary accommodation – have been exhausted,” the DfE said.

If schools do need to use remote learning, the work should be “high quality, meaningful, ambitious and cover an appropriate range of subjects”, the department added.

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What if my child can’t stay at their current school?

In some cases, pupils may be moved to emergency or longer-term temporary accommodation on a different school site.

This would be arranged by the school or college alongside the local authority.

If this happens, they should be able to stay on the roll of their normal school.

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