Unions demand investment in school buildings amid safety fears

Six education unions have written an open letter calling on the government to take urgent action over schools at risk of collapse.

In the letter, the unions said that spending on the buildings had fallen sharply over the past decade, while also pointing out that the Department for Education (DfE) had itself acknowledged the high risk of a school-building collapse in a report last year.

They claimed that the department lacked an accurate picture of the state of many of its buildings and urged the government to take steps to find out their true state, eradicate the risk of collapse, and put in interim measures to keep pupils and staff safe.

The at-risk buildings are believed to include a number with roofs made from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, a material used regularly in the years after the Second World War that is weaker than traditional concrete and was only expected to have a 30-year lifespan.

Several hospitals made from the material have been identified and have been subject to checks and remediation work.

NASUWT general secretary Patrick Roach said: “This situation is the result of years of chronic underinvestment in our education system and the school-buildings estate.

“Schools are now counting the cost of the government’s reckless decision a decade ago to abandon the Building Schools for the Future programme. Rebuilding and refurbishment investment is at a fraction of what is required to keep pupils and staff able to learn and work safely.

“School staff and parents deserve and need to know if their schools are at risk and what is being done to urgently ensure the safety of their schools.”

A DfE spokesperson said the government has allocated £13bn of capital funding to schools since 2015, including £1.8bn in the current financial year.

They added: “We take the safety of pupils and staff extremely seriously. The department works closely with schools and responsible bodies to ensure all school buildings are well-maintained and safe.

“If the department is made aware of a building that poses an imminent risk of collapsing, immediate action is taken to ensure safety and remediate the situation. At present, the department is not aware of any school building that remains open in this state and would expect responsible bodies to immediately approach us if this were the case.”

In December, the DfE awarded renovation funding to 239 schools.

The five other unions that signed the letter were the GMB, Community, the National Education Union, Unison and Unite.

The issue was raised in the House of Lords last week by Labour peer Baroness Jennifer Chapman. In response, DfE minister Baroness Diana Barran suggested that there are examples of aerated concrete that have “been properly maintained and [do] not pose a risk”. She added that although the department was looking to identify all of the buildings that have the material on them, not all schools that are thought to have aerated concrete turn out to have it.

“I absolutely assure the house that where we identify any building material that poses a risk to children and staff, we act immediately,” she said.