Secretary of State for Education (): This update follows from
my oral and written ministerial statements to the House in
September.
An updated list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of
RAAC in England has been published today. As of 16 October, there
are 214 education settings with confirmed RAAC in some of their
buildings. Thanks to the hard work of school and college leaders,
202 settings (94%) are providing full time face-to-face education
for all pupils. 12 settings have hybrid arrangements in place.
This may involve some remote learning on some days as not all
pupils can currently receive full-time face-to-face education.
There are no education settings with confirmed RAAC where all
pupils are in full-time remote learning.
Last year we issued a questionnaire asking responsible bodies for
schools and colleges to identify whether they suspected they had
RAAC. Responsible bodies have, as of today, submitted responses
to the questionnaire for 99.9% of schools and colleges with
blocks built in the target era. We are in contact with
responsible bodies and education settings to resolve the 17
remaining responses to the questionnaire and ensure any required
surveys of potential RAAC cases are carried out imminently by one
of 8 professional survey firms. The vast majority of schools
surveyed to date have been found to have no RAAC.
Every school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated
support from our team of 80 caseworkers. Project delivery teams
are on site to support schools and colleges to implement
mitigation plans. They will work with them to put in place a
bespoke plan that supports face-to-face education for all pupils
as soon as possible based on their circumstances. Mitigation
plans include other spaces on the school site, or in nearby
schools or elsewhere in the local area, until building works are
carried out or temporary buildings are installed.
The government is funding the emergency work needed to mitigate
the presence of RAAC, including installing alternative classroom
space where necessary. All reasonable requests for additional
help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or
temporarily renting a local hall, are being approved. The
government is funding longer-term refurbishment or rebuilding
projects to address the presence of RAAC in schools. Schools and
colleges will either be offered capital grants to fund
refurbishment work to permanently remove RAAC, or rebuilding
projects where these are needed, including through the School
Rebuilding Programme. We are working closely with responsible
bodies to assess what the right solution is for each case.
I want to reassure pupils, parents and staff that this government
is doing whatever it takes to support our schools and colleges in
responding to RAAC and minimise disruption to education.
