Parents have been left ‘devastated’ as more than 100 schools in England are ordered to close just before the start of the new term due to fears of dangerous concrete found in structures – with pupils forced back into pandemic-style online learning. 

More than 100 schools and colleges were told to partially or fully close buildings as children prepared to return after the summer holidays because of fears the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) could suddenly collapse. 

The Government is facing calls to explain why it waited until the eve of the autumn term to warn families – with concerns hospitals and courtrooms could also be affected by the problem.

RAAC is a lightweight building material used from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, but now assessed to be at risk of collapse. 

The Department for Education (DfE) has been considering RAAC as a potential issue since late 2018, schools minister Nick Gibb says they’ve been focusing on evidence gathering and surveys since 2022, and problems were highlighted in a report in June by the National Audit Office (NAO). 

But The Times reports the first warnings about RAAC cracking in roofs came as early as 1995.

The timing of the decision to issue guidance just days before the start of term has angered unions and parents but the schools minister insists decisions could not have been taken sooner. 

One parent, Shahzad Ismail, said he was ‘devastated’ as his son’s school in Bingley, West Yorkshire, will be shut over concrete safety concerns. ‘Even the headteacher that sent that letter, you could tell from the letter how emotionally stressed out she was because it’s going to widely affect a lot of children,’ he told BBC News.

Another parent told MailOnline of her son’s ‘confusion’ and ‘disappointment’ after they were ‘informed only yesterday of the complete closure of St Andrews Junior school in Hatfield Peverel, Chelmsford, Essex, due to an unsafe roof structure.’

A collapsed RAAC roof at a Kent primary school. Hundreds of schools across the country were built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, known as RAAC, between the 1960s and 1990s, with the buildings having a life span of around 30 years

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan (pictured) said the government was supporting schools with ‘the right support and funding’ to put safety measures in place

A total of 104 schools have been instructed to keep buildings shut if they are made with a type of concrete that is prone to collapse, the government announced 

Hundreds of schools across the country were built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, known as RAAC, between the 1960s and 1990s

The parent, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘The school have not made any alternative provisions to use any other building in the area, although we do not blame the school for this situation.

‘They have ordered some temporary ‘classrooms’ in the form of portacabins, which may arrive by mid September.

‘My son was supposed to be starting in his new school on Tuesday, however now we will be using Google classroom for the foreseeable future with no confirmed date of face to face teaching.

‘The school state they were informed of the forced closure on August 29 at 4pm by the DofE and local council.

‘We are extremely frustrated and our son is confused and disappointed.’

The Government has refused to publicly reveal the 104 education facilities which have been told to shut buildings, and critics warned the problems with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) could be far wider. 

Ministers have been urged to ‘come clean’ about the scale of the problem as thousands of pupils faced a disrupted start to term and Priti Patel told the i newspaper the situation is becoming ‘quite a big mess’. 

Kenneth Hope’s 11-year-old daughter was due to begin secondary at Ferryhill School in County Durham, on Tuesday – until the family received an email informing them the school would not be open until September 11.

Kenneth, who has six children, said the short notice has put his family in a ‘difficult position’. ‘My daughter just wants to get there, she’s been a bit apprehensive about starting secondary school,’ he told the BBC. 

The schools minister said fresh evidence has come to light regarding the structural integrity of buildings in the United Kingdom, extending beyond schools.

Nick Gibb told GB News why school buildings were being closed so close to the start of term.

He said: ‘The decision is being taken now because over the summer, evidence has emerged about buildings in this country and in other countries – not just schools – where reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete that was considered to be non-critical, actually turned out to fail.

‘So we took a very strict decision over the summer, we liaised with experts, and we took a cautious approach to make sure, because safety of children and staff in our schools is of the utmost importance.

‘So we took the decision that the previous policy, which was to take buildings out of use if the RAAC was considered to be in a critical state, we changed that policy yesterday so that any RAAC identified in schools, now those buildings will be taken out of use.

‘And we are supporting the 156 schools where this is a situation to find alternative accommodation for students.’

He added: ‘I know parents and children will be frustrated by this but our paramount concern is the safety of children and staff in those schools.’

He insisted the decision to close the buildings at risk could not have been taken earlier. 

‘We took the decision as soon as the evidence emerged. We were proactively seeking that evidence, unlike any other governments around the world.

‘We take this issue very seriously and as that evidence emerged, we discussed it with experts. We worked out what the consequences would be for schools.

‘This happened in the summer. It could have happened in the coming November. It could have happened during term time. It just so happened that it happened over this summer.’

The Department for Education (DfE) said a minority of the state facilities may have to move completely.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told broadcasters: ‘Most parents should not be worried about this at all.’

The DfE told four schools in Essex and the north-east to shut after RAAC was discovered in their ceilings. Hockley Primary School in Essex (pictured) was among them

Two schools in Bradford – Eldwick Primary School (left) and Crossflatts Primary School (right) – are among those impacted by the concrete problem. The schools were partially closed on the eve of the new term with pupils being moved to ‘safe’ areas of the buildings

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.’

Official guidance was issued to schools, school nurseries and colleges – which have been told they will have to fund their own emergency accommodation.

The DfE said it contacted the 104 more schools in the wake of analysis of new cases after 52 of the 156 educational settings containing the concrete took protective steps so far this year.

The department said a ‘minority’ will need to ‘either fully or partially relocate’ to alternative accommodation while safety measures are installed.

But its guidance to schools said funding will only be provided for works that are ‘capital funded’ and schools will have to pay for rental costs for emergency or temporary accommodation.

Space in nearby schools, community centres or in an ’empty local office building’ was recommended for the ‘first few weeks’ while buildings are secured with structural supports.

Schools were told moving to pandemic-style remote education should only be considered as a ‘last resort and for a short period’.

Calling for all affected schools to be named, Ms Phillipson told BBC’s Newsnight: ‘I expect ministers next week in the House of Commons to publish that data and tell parents and tell the public exactly where the problems are.’

RAAC is a lightweight building material used from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, but now assessed to be at risk of collapse.

The DfE has been considering RAAC as a potential issue since late 2018 but the timing of the decision to issue guidance just days before the start of term has angered unions.

National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede said: ‘It is absolutely disgraceful, and a sign of gross Government incompetence, that a few days before the start of term, 104 schools are finding out that some or all of their buildings are unsafe and cannot be used.

‘To add insult to injury the Government states in its guidance that it will not be covering the costs of emergency temporary accommodation or additional transport.’

Other schools suspected of containing RAAC will be surveyed in a matter of weeks.

If RAAC is confirmed, the DfE has promised that ‘appropriate rapid action is taken’ which could include funding to remove any immediate risks and, where necessary, arranging temporary buildings to be put in place.

The Unison union’s head of education Mike Short said: ‘Parents, pupils and staff will be relieved the issue is finally being taken seriously.

‘But to wait until the eleventh hour as schools are prepare for a new academic year will create turmoil for thousands of families. And this could just be the tip of the iceberg.’

The state of England’s schools buildings – as well as problems with RAAC – were highlighted in a report in June by public spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO).

The NAO’s report said 700,000 pupils were learning in schools that required major rebuilding or refurbishment.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said the ‘timing of this couldn’t be worse’.

‘What we are seeing here are the very real consequences of a decade of swinging cuts to spending on school buildings,’ he said.

The general secretary of teaching union NASUWT said the announcement highlighted ‘more than a decade of wilful under-investment’ in schools.

Dr Patrick Roach said: ‘Although we welcome that the DfE has finally taken action to safeguard pupils and teachers, it would appear that mere luck rather than judgment has prevented a major disaster from occurring.’

The Education Secretary insisted that a ‘cautious approach…is the right thing to do for both pupils and staff’.

‘Nothing is more important than making sure children and staff are safe in schools and colleges, which is why we are acting on new evidence about RAAC now, ahead of the start of term,’ she said.

‘The plan we have set out will minimise the impact on pupil learning and provide schools with the right funding and support they need to put mitigations in place to deal with RAAC.’