MORE schools could be forced to close due to the crumbling concrete crisis, a schools minister has admitted.

More than 100 schools and colleges across the country - including two in the Bradford district - have been told to partially or fully close buildings because of fears concrete in the foundations could suddenly collapse.

But parents don’t know if academy schools in the district are affected by the crisis because the Government hasn’t published a full list.

And there are fears that ‘temporary’ portable buildings may be needed for years depending on the scale of the problem.

One school estates manager told The Guardian that the number of those affected in some way could eventually rise as high as 1,000 - and said the crisis could end up with children being taught in temporary buildings for as long as a decade to come.

Bradford Council confirmed earlier this week that two schools run by the local authority Eldwick Primary and Crossflatts Primary - may have had Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) used in their construction.

Temporary classrooms have been ordered, but with head teachers across England scrambling to find temporary accommodation there is a lengthy wait. For Eldwick, it could be four months before the portable classrooms are ready.

Bradford Council’s survey only covered local authority-maintained schools built in the period when RAAC may have been used.

Many schools in the district are academies and the council said these are “being assessed by the Department for Education (DfE) and are in their jurisdiction”.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Work underway at Crossflatts Work underway at Crossflatts (Image: Newsquest)

 

Some 104 schools and colleges have been told by the DfE to partially or fully close buildings just as pupils prepare to return after the summer holidays.

 

But shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “We haven’t seen the full list of schools affected.

"We don’t know where they are, ministers should come clean with parents and set out the full scale of the challenge that we’re facing.”

Nick Gibb, Minister of State for Schools said on Friday that a collapse over the summer of a beam that had been considered safe sparked an urgent rethink on whether buildings with RAAC could remain open.

The DfE sought to dampen some of the anger by altering guidance to confirm that the cost of temporary and emergency accommodation will be covered by the Government.

But Mr Gibb conceded that more schools could be told to make closures as evidence-gathering continues over the presence of the concrete.

“There may be more after that as these questionnaires continue to be surveyed and we continue to do more surveying work,” he told GB News.

But Mr Gibb insisted pupils and parents should not be apprehensive about the risk during the wait for the results.

“No, they shouldn’t worry,” he said.

“That’s a very cautious approach, so parents can be confident that if they’ve not been contacted by their school it is safe to send children back into school.”

Phillip Davies, MP for Shipley, whose constituency includes Eldwick and Crossflatts,said: “It’s far from ideal, particularly on the eve of the schools starting its academic term.

“It’s not ideal for the teachers or the pupils.

“A solution has been found temporarily for the pupils to attend school in a safe area and I’m grateful to the schools and Bradford Council.

“I’ve sent a message to the schools that if there’d anything they need or anything I can do to help to let me know.

“It’s going to make life difficult for the schools at the start of the academic year.”

In the short-term at Eldwick and Crossflatts, non-RAAC areas of the two schools are being adapted to allow children to come back at the start of the new term, while medium-term measures include the delivery of temporary rooms.

Short-term arrangements are to ensure that children can return to school for the new year as expected and not have their learning disrupted.

Bradford Council said: “The short-term interim arrangements mean the children can return to school for the new school year as expected and not have their learning disrupted.

“The affected areas of the school cannot be used.

“Short-term measures include for example temporarily splitting larger spaces into classrooms until the temporary classrooms arrive.

"Then we will be able to provide them with more appropriate space and are a longer-term solution until remedial works are done.”