What is Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete RAAC?
A type of bubbly, porous concrete, weaker than traditional concrete and prone to collapse. It was widely used in schools and other public buildings from the 1950s to the mid-1990s.
Why did it suddenly become a problem in 2023?
Because the Conservative Government ignored this ticking time bomb for far too long, it knew about the RAAC risk of collapse since at least 2018, when a roof collapsed at a Kent primary school. And in any case, RAAC was known to have a life span of only 30 years, so even RAAC used in the early 1990s is now time expired.
As far as we know, the situation which triggered the sudden announcement about school closures on 31 August 2023 was linked to a beam collapse, without any prior signs of deterioration.
What is NEU advice where RAAC is confirmed?
If RAAC is already confirmed in your school, this is the DfE guidance that should be followed. Schools have been told by the DfE to vacate and restrict access to spaces with RAAC, and ensure they are out of use. If this hasn’t happened, seek urgent support from your branch.
If your school is partly or fully closed because RAAC is confirmed, ask where the RAAC is, and ask for the risk assessment covering working arrangements for the rest of the building and for any other temporary premises being brought into use.
DfE guidance on installing temporary buildings on school sites affected by RAAC is available.
Ask if your school also contains asbestos. If it does contain asbestos (and it is likely that any building containing RAAC will also contain asbestos because both materials were being used in school construction at the same time) then ask how this will be managed when remedial work is undertaken. If you are worried, contact the health and safety officer/secretary from your branch.
What is the DfE saying now?
The Department for Education is now saying that its RAAC identification programme is complete, and the questionnaire has closed. All responsible bodies for schools and colleges with blocks built in the target era have submitted responses to the questionnaire. Any school or college that advised the DfE that they suspected they might have RAAC has had a survey to confirm if RAAC is present. Other than the 237 education settings on the DfE’s list, the surveys found no evidence of RAAC.
However, the DfE says that it is important that responsible bodies remain aware of the possible presence of RAAC and understand how to identify it, following the stages outlined in its RAAC identification guidance. This guidance also describes the actions to be taken should RAAC, or suspected RAAC, be identified.
The NEU has developed a tool for health and safety reps to check the safety of their school buildings to highlight to management the areas of the school which pose a safety risk so they can be prioritised for remediation.
About Ofsted
Ofsted's latest position is that RAAC-affected schools “will be eligible for inspection”. However, Ofsted has said that being on the RAAC list “will be sufficient grounds to defer the inspection”, should the school wish to.
For schools that do not have confirmed RAAC but may still be impacted by RAAC, for example where a school is hosting pupils from schools that have RAAC, Ofsted will “carefully consider any requests for a deferral of an inspection”.
What is NEU doing at the national level?
We will be urging the new Government, and lobbying opposition parties, to commit to reverse the swingeing cuts to capital spending, the leagcy of the last Government, which have left schools in such a dire state of repair. As of 2021 schools in England faced a repair bill of an estimated £11.4bn, according to a DfE survey, the Condition of School Buildings Survey. By June 2023, the National Audit Office report Condition of School Buildings found that “following years of underinvestment, the estate’s overall condition is declining and around 700,000 pupils are learning in a school that the responsible body or DfE believes needs major rebuilding or refurbishment.” RAAC isn’t the only problem. Many buildings containing RAAC will also contain asbestos, making it more difficult to safely remove RAAC and meaning that the consequences of a collapse are even more serious.
The NEU has developed a tool for health and safety reps to check the safety of their school buildings to highlight to management the areas of the school which pose a safety risk so they can be prioritised for remediation.
School Building Safety Petition and the underfunding of schools
Our schools are crumbling. To help press the case for investment, the union has launched a petition calling for the spending increase and greater transparency in how the Government deals with the problem of crumbling schools.
The National Education Union is opening a call for evidence to help us pressure the Government over the urgent need for extra funding for schools – and we need your help.
We need you to submit your examples – using photos, video, or just text – of any problems you’ve encountered with the state of your school (structural problems such as leaking roofs or collapsing ceilings, classrooms overcrowded, buildings too hot or too cold, insufficient learning resources such as sports, science or cooking spaces/equipment, etc.).
We will anonymise all submissions unless you tell us you are happy to go public. We will use the evidence on social media, in communications with members and to lobby politicians to pledge the additional funds our schools desperately need.