Council officials are being urged to complete surveys on up to 100 school buildings in Hertfordshire with ‘maximum urgency’, amid mounting concerns around the safety of a ‘concrete’ that can be prone to collapse.

RAAC is a cheap version of concrete that was used mostly in construction between the 1950s and 1990s.

The Health and Safety Executive said RAAC was now beyond its lifespan and may “collapse with little or no notice”.

Gillian Keegan has said the Government is taking a “deliberately cautious approach” to children’s safety following the closure of more than 100 schools amid the concrete crisis.

Speaking in the Commons, the Education Secretary said that children’s safety was the “absolute priority” and that the “vast majority” of schools would be unaffected.

Ms Keegan also reaffirmed her promise to publish the full list of the 156 schools containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete this week.

The government has been aware of public sector buildings that contain RAAC since 1994.
In 2018, the government began monitoring the condition of these buildings.
In the summer of 2023, the government became aware of three cases where RAAC failed.
The first failure occurred in a commercial setting, the second in a school in another educational jurisdiction, and the third at a school in England.
In August 2023, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced that RAAC is now life-expired and liable to collapse with little or no notice.
On August 31, 2023, the government announced that there were 156 educational settings in England containing RAAC.
Of these settings, 104 did not have mitigations in place and were told to vacate their buildings.
The government said that the recent cases of RAAC failure had changed their assessment of the risk that it poses to safety.

In summary, the government has been aware of the risks posed by RAAC for some time, but the recent failures have led them to take a more cautious approach. As a result, more than 100 educational settings in England have been forced to close until the RAAC in their buildings can be assessed and repaired.

Earlier this month a spokesperson for HCC said that there was no reason to believe any other of the council’s school buildings contain RAAC.

It states: “Hertfordshire County Council is not aware of any Hertfordshire schools needing to close as a result of the direction from the Department for Education (DfE) on managing Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in schools.

“Between 2020 and 2021, we carried out surveys on 279 local authority maintained schools that had buildings constructed between 1959 and 1989, the risk period initially identified by the DfE. Will now focus on schools built between 1950 and 1958 and between 1990 and 1995.

“This identified three schools that needed remediation works, and those works were completed in 2022.

Widford School
Bushey & Oxhey Infants School
Markyate Village School and Nursery.

“While we have no reason to believe that any other school buildings contain RAAC, as a precaution we will now also be carrying out surveys on schools with buildings built in the 1950s and early 90s, which are at lower risk.

“We are encouraging parents to contact their school directly if they have any concerns.”

Here, the PA news agency lists some of the schools.

Hadleigh high school, Suffolk
On Friday, the Ipswich school told parents it was affected and “will need to consider delaying reopening or partial closure until the issue has been resolved”.

Farlingaye high school, Woodbridge, Suffolk
Some classrooms are out of use and it might need to delay reopening.

Claydon high school, Suffolk, East of England
The school in Ipswich is considering delaying reopening or partial closure until the on-site Raac issue has been resolved.

Honywood school, Colchester, Essex
Twenty-two classrooms have been closed with immediate effect, with year groups doing a mixture of remote and on-site learning.

Jerounds primary school, Harlow, Essex
The school will stay open despite Raac being found in the school’s kitchen as it is being strengthened with a steel structure, BBC News reported.

Katherines primary academy, Harlow, Essex
Has reportedly closed its main building.

Clacton County high school, Essex
On Monday, the school will be closed for all students. It will be open only for year 7 pupils on Tuesday, with all other children having online lessons. From Wednesday to Friday, the school will be open for year 7 and year 11 only, with other cohorts learning online.

Kingsdown School in Southend, Essex
Louise Robinson, the headteacher of Kingsdown School, has said the school will be closed next week due to the aerated concrete.

East Tilbury primary school, Thurrock, Essex
Some parts of the school will be closed, with year 1 pupils moved to share a block with reception and year 2 pupils relocated to the sports hall.

Buckhurst Hill community primary school, Essex
The school is closed until Monday 11 September while alternative teaching arrangements are organised.

Thameside primary school, Essex
Expects its reopening to be delayed until 11 September 11. Parts of the school have been closed, with a significant number of teaching spaces affected.

East Bergholt high school, Colchester, Essex
The school is deciding whether to delay reopening or partly close.

Thurstable school and sixth form, Essex
No students in school on Wednesday, with online learning from home in place. Year 7 is expected to be in school on Thursday, with years 7, 11, 12 and 13 on-site on Friday, with remote learning for other years.

The Billericay school, Essex
A number of classrooms will be unavailable while remedial works take place, temporarily reducing the school’s on-site teaching capacity, it has said.

The Appleton school, Essex
BBC News has reported that the school’s Tower, North and South blocks are being vacated, while years 8, 9 and 10 are set for online learning from home from Wednesday to Friday.

Woodville primary school, Chelmsford, Essex
The school is closed until 11 September, BBC News reported.

Arthur Bugler primary school, Thurrock, Essex
BBC News reports that the building for years 4, 5 and 6 will be shut at the start and the new school term could delayed for these year groups.

Buckhurst Hill community primary school, Essex
The start of term has been delayed until 11 September for all pupils so alternative teaching arrangements can be organised.

The Coopers’ Company and Coburn school, Essex
No students will be on site on Monday or Tuesday, BBC News reported.

The Gilberd school, Colchester, Essex
Plans to reopen on 11 September for years 8-11 and on Tuesday 12 September for year 7. The school hopes temporary classrooms will be added while work is carried out on its roof.

St Andrew’s junior school, Hatfield Peverel, Essex
Will be closed until mid-September at the earliest and temporary classrooms are needed, BBC News reported.

Hockley primary school, Essex
Has been closed since 11 June and some year groups are being sent to other schools.

Ramsey Academy, Halstead, Essex
BBC News has reported that four classrooms are not being used until safety measures are in place.

Ravens Academy, Clacton-On-Sea, Essex
Expected to be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Roding Valley high school, Loughton, Essex
Canteen staff are able to cater only for pupils receiving free school meals, with other students urged to bring a packed lunch, BBC News has reported. Some year groups are set to learn from home on Thursday and Friday, it added.

Mayflower primary school, Leicester, east Midlands
Mayflower primary school is one of three schools in Leicester that have been told they have buildings affected by Raac that need to be taken out of use, Leicester city council has said. The school found out it was affected before the summer holidays, the council said.

Parks primary school, Leicester, east Midlands
A “large proportion” of Parks primary school in Leicester was forced to close in June after a survey revealed Raac was used in its construction. Its headteacher, Caroline Evans, told Channel 4 News: “In June, we were told we had Raac across the whole of our school and it was in a critical condition, which meant that we had to close a large proportion of our school, leaving only open the reception class and two year 1 classes and two year 2 classes.”

Willowbrook Mead primary academy, Leicester
Another affected school, the Willowbrook Mead primary academy on the outskirts of Leicester, has said it will be closed on Monday.

Northampton international academy, Northampton
According to BBC News, the use of the top floor, including 18 classrooms, has been restricted, while the sixth-form area and a staffroom are closed while survey work is done.

Aston Manor academy, Birmingham
The academy has announced a delayed start to the academic year, with students not expected on the school site until at least 11 September.

Aylesford school, Warwick
The primary school is not affected but a significant area of the rest of the school will be closed while works continue. Only year 7s will be taught onsite on Monday, with year 12s returning from Wednesday.

Wood Green academy, Wednesbury
Some classrooms will be closed until October.

Donnington Wood infants school, Telford, Shropshire
Telford and Wrekin council has said additional safety measures, including extra temporary ceilings, have been installed at the school after Raac was found. It is set to remain open.

Myton School, Warwick, Warwickshire
Has delayed the start of term after telling parents that many students cannot return until 11 September, BBC News reported.

Outwoods primary school, Atherstone, North Warwickshire
Warwickshire county council has said it is the only school on its patch affected by Raac but it will remain open after precautionary measures were already introduced.

Pershore high school, Worcestershire
A temporary building housing a drama teaching space and costume store may be of Raac construction and has been taken out of use before a specialist survey takes place.

St Bede’s Catholic school and Byron sixth form college, Peterlee, County Durham
On Friday, the school’s headteacher, Frances Cessford, said parts of the building are out of use while safety measures are put in place.

St Anne’s Catholic primary school, Harlow Green, Newcastle upon Tyne, north-east England
Announced that the school would be temporarily closed on 2 September.

St Benet’s Catholic primary school, Ouston, Newcastle upon Tyne, north-east England
Announced that the school would be temporarily closed on 2 September.

St Leonards Catholic school, Durham
The school announced it would be temporarily closed on 2 September. Its headteacher, Chris Hammill, said the “number one” priority was getting children back to school and that he was working with the Department for Education to put together a plan. He said they were looking at options to teach pupils in school buildings on site that were not affected by the Raac. An email sent to parents and which has been seen by the PA Media news agency said they were also in conversation with Durham University about using some of its space and Durham county council about using the old County Hall building.

Ferryhill school, County Durham
The secondary school has written to parents to tell them the start of the school year will be delayed, with most pupils to be educated remotely from 11 September, ITV News has reported. The start of the new school year will be delayed. New starters would start a week late with the rest being taught online, it said.

St James Catholic primary school, Hebburn, South Tyneside
On Saturday, the headteacher, Francesca Heslop, told parents “the school building is out of use while we put safety measures in place” and that it would also need to be closed on Tuesday.

St Teresa’s Catholic primary school, Darlington
Darlington borough council said St Teresa’s Catholic primary school would not open until 11 September amid safety fears.

Carmel College, Darlington
Carmel College has also told parents that the kitchen and library at the college would be temporarily vacated until further investigations have taken place, Darlington borough council has said. It said the college would remain open but there would be some disruption to classrooms and only a limited break and lunch menu, with pupils from year 7 to 11 asked to take a packed lunch for the first week.

Abbey Lane primary school, Sheffield
Work started in July to replace a roof over the school kitchen after it was identified as containing Raac, the Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley, Louise Haigh, said. The school is due to reopen on Tuesday and a temporary kitchen has been installed.

Eldwick primary school, Bingley, West Yorkshire
Bradford council has said access to areas of the school where Raac is present is prohibited.

Crossflatts primary school in Bingley, near Bradford, Yorkshire and the Humber
Parts of the school where Raac was found are closed and the plan is to provide temporary classrooms on-site, Bradford council has said.

Scalby school, Scarborough, Yorkshire and the Humber
Not reopening until 11 September and there is expected to be a mix of face-to-face and online home learning. Significant parts of the school are affected and have been taken out of use.

Cleeve Park school, Sidcup, London
BBC News has reported that four classrooms, some admin offices and the gym will be closed.

St Thomas More Catholic comprehensive, Eltham, London
Set to open as planned from Tuesday but the hall, gym, canteen, drama studio and boys’ and girls’ toilets are affected by Raac. The school plans to open mobile toilet blocks and is hiring a marquee as a space for the students to eat and prepare food.

Corpus Christi Catholic school in Brixton, London
Junior school pupils are being relocated to a temporary location after Raac was found in a roof, a statement from 18 August said.

The Ellen Wilkinson school, London
The science block, old gym, the hall and canteen are being vacated and students may need to bring packed lunches for a short period, according to the i newspaper and BBC News. The school remains open.

Cockermouth school, Cockermouth, Cumbria
Will open on Tuesday instead of Monday after Raac concrete was found in four corridors, the library and the sports hall.

St Bernard’s school, Bolton, Greater Manchester
Scaffolding will be put in place to support several areas of the school with Raac, causing “disruption” until the work is completed. The school will open on 7 September, but only if safety work is completed in time – otherwise it could reopen on 11 September.

Our Lady’s Catholic high school, Preston, Lancashire
Reportedly closed on Monday and Tuesday, according to local media and BBC News.

Cranbourne College in Basingstoke, Hampshire
Temporary works have already been undertaken to one section of the building to make sure it is safe and another area has been out of use since the beginning of the year, Hampshire county council said. The school is expected to open as normal at the start of term.

St Francis Catholic primary school in Ascot, Berkshire
Key stage two pupils will be starting the new term being taught in marquees after unsafe concrete was found in its school hall and kitchen, ITV reported.

St Clere’s school, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex
The high school announced it would be closing most of the main building, affecting a “significant number” of classrooms, according to an update on its website. The closures will remain in place until “appropriate mitigation measures are established and approved by independent surveyors”, the school said.

Greenway junior school, Horsham, West Sussex, south-east England
The school will reportedly be closed for all pupils on Tuesday.

Ysgol David Hughes and Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi in Anglesey (Ynys Môn), north Wales
Both schools have been closed so that safety inspections can take place, the Welsh education minister, Jeremy Miles, said on Monday.