Measures to permanently remove Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC)
from all affected schools and colleges, have been confirmed by the Government.
A final list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC
in schools and colleges in England has been published today. There are 234
education settings, out of 22,000, with confirmed RAAC
in some areas of their buildings - around 1%.
It says 119 of these schools will have one or more buildings rebuilt or refurbished
through the School Rebuilding Programme where works to remove RAAC
are more extensive or complex.
Additionally 110 schools and colleges will benefit from grant funding to
remove RAAC from
their buildings where works will typically be smaller in scale.
Five schools and colleges, with support from the Department, have alternative
arrangements in place to address the removal of RAAC,
for example the building will not be part of the school or college estate over
the longer term.
Those responsible for affected school and college buildings are today
receiving direct confirmation from the department on how the RAAC
removal will be funded.
Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, said: “Nothing is more important to me
than the safety of every child and member of staff in school.
“We will continue to work closely with schools and colleges as we take the
next step to permanently remove RAAC
from affected buildings.
“I want to thank all schools, colleges and local
authorities who have worked tirelessly with the department to ensure all
children remain in face-to-face education.”
The Department’s RAAC
Identification programme is now complete as 100% of schools and colleges with
blocks built in the target era have responded to the questionnaire.
All schools or colleges that advised us they suspect they might have RAAC
have had a survey to confirm if RAAC
is present.
A small number of schools and colleges are carrying out additional checks
for further assurance in some spaces. The Department is working with
responsible bodies to support them to complete these additional checks as
quickly as possible.
In addition to the 119 schools with confirmed RAAC
included in the School Rebuilding Programme, the Department has today confirmed
that a further 8 schools without RAAC
have also been added to the programme. The projects announced today take the
total number of schools in the programme to 513. The ten-year School Rebuilding
Programme is continuing to prioritise school buildings with the highest
condition need across England through rebuilding or significantly refurbishing
buildings.
The Government has already confirmed it will fund schools and colleges for
the costs of work needed to mitigate the presence of RAAC.
Today’s announcement provides certainty for individual schools or colleges in
England on how the Government will support the removal of RAAC
from their buildings.
Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of pupils and staff, which
is why we took a cautious approach for schools and colleges. Although the
technical advice does not recommend removal in all cases where it is present,
we have taken a precautionary approach for the education estate in England to
remove RAAC.
Already £1.8 billion has been committed in capital funding this year to
support schools to stay in good working order, as part of £15 billion allocated
since 2015. The School Rebuilding Programme will transform over 500 schools
over the next decade. A further £1.5 billion has been made available for
colleges through the further education capital transformation fund.
