At least four schools in Yorkshire to see closures following concrete at risk of collapse

Crossflatts and Eldwick primary schools have restricted access to classrooms, with Bradford council confirming at least eight teaching spaces have been lost.

Education is scheduled to continue at both schools, with changes to safe areas set to be made by the end of the week so that children can attend classes, with longer-term planning in place to provide temporary classrooms.

North Yorkshire Council yesterday said that Scalby School in Scarborough had been asked to close but was the only school in the area that had been affected by the concerns over Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).

Chris Robertson, the secondary school’s headteacher, told parents that the school will no longer re-open as planned on Monday 11 September, with learning set to be a “mix of face to face and online home learning” with families set for an update next week.

Abbey Lane Primary School in Sheffield is making “alternative meal arrangements” for the children after RAAC was found in the roof above the kitchens.

The upheaval for parents and children comes as ministers changed guidance over whether it was safe for children to still attend classes in buildings which are known to contain the concrete.

Schools minister Nick Gibb yesterday said that the collapse of a beam over the summer had prompted an urgent rethink of whether schools should be allowed to operate as before, with a potential risk to children’s safety.

The Government said 104 schools have been told to partially or fully close, with around 24 thought to have been forced to close entirely.

Mr Gibb conceded that more schools may have to follow suit as officials continue to gather evidence on which buildings contain the material.

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete is a lightweight building material used between the 1950s and 1990s but has in recent years been assessed to be at risk of collapsing, with the Department for Education considering it an issue as far back as 2018.

Earlier this year it was reported that RAAC had been found in various UK hospitals, including Airedale in West Yorkshire, with ministers now pledging to rebuild it.

Ministers yesterday came under heavy criticism from opposition parties and unions over the slowness taken to respond, as well as the timing of the announcement being so close to when children return to school.

Labour called for an “urgent audit” into the Government’s handling of public-sector buildings containing RAAC, while the Liberal Democrats called for clarity over which schools have been affected, and whether hospital wards containing the material could also be forced to close.

Louise Haigh, the MP for Sheffield Heeley, said: “RAAC was identified as an issue back in 2018 and there remain schools around the country which the government do not know if they contain this material and are therefore a risk to children.

“It is appalling that the government has allowed schools across the country to fall into such dilapidation and are now expecting Councils and schools to foot the bill.

“Just days before children return to school after the summer break, it is totally unacceptable that children, schools and parents and carers have been put in this position.”