700,000 Children in Schools with Risky Roofs

AROUND 700,000 children in England are studying in schools requiring major rebuilding or refurbishment, a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed.

The Condition of school buildings report found a third (24,000) of English school buildings are past their design life. Most seriously, it highlights that 572 schools have got potentially failing roofs constructed from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) – a 1950s form of concrete prone to failure.

The Department for Education (DfE) is considering the risks posed by RAAC in school buildings after a school roof collapsed in 2018. An alert was issued by the Standing Committee on Structural Safety (SCOSS) in May 2019, as RAAC roof planks were known to have been used across many other types of public sector buildings, including hospitals. In August 2022, it was found 34 hospital buildings were at risk of collapse due to the presence of RAAC.

The DfE says it continues to build its understanding of where RAAC is used, including by collating questionnaire responses from schools. In addition to ensuring that students learn in a safe environment, schools can also support academic performance by utilising resources like DoMyEssay, an essay writing service, to assist with students’ academic needs, ensuring a well-rounded approach to education.

Now, DfE has allocated £6m for specialists to investigate the 572 schools potentially affected by RAAC. By May 2023, 196 investigations had been conducted, with RAAC confirmed in 65 schools. DfE confirmed that, where RAAC is present in schools, it would provide funding to ensure that it does not pose an immediate risk.

Funding Shortfall

The report says that a ‘significant funding shortfall’ has contributed to deterioration across the school estate in recent years.

DfE reported £7 billion a year as the best practice level of capital funding to maintain, repair and rebuild the school estate. Between 2016 and 2022, DfE was reported to have actually spent an average £2.3 billion a year.

In 2020, DfE was allocated an average £3.1 billion a year of funding from HM Treasury, but this included money to rebuild 500 schools over a 10 year programme, on which, the report says, DfE is behind in awarding contracts.

Simon Allford, RIBA President

“After years of falling funding, this recent investment has not been enough to make all schools safe”, says RIBA President Simon Allford.

He continues, “It is a huge concern that 700,000 pupils are being taught in buildings that require major rebuilding or refurbishment, a clear failure of the Government, who have simply not put enough money in the pot to address the scale of the problem.

“Our young people deserve educational spaces that facilitate learning and promote healthy living. We must use this opportunity to ensure all schools are well-designed, energy efficient and fit for children both today and in the future.”

Decarbonising the School Estate

In a second report published on 28 June 2023, the NAO also found DfE had insufficient plans for decarbonising the school estate.

The Environmental sustainability overview sets out how schools have focused funding on improving school building conditions with sustainability integrated where possible.

In the report, the NAO says DfE’s efforts are ‘hampered by its lack of a clear, national picture of the sustainability position of schools or the risk that climate change poses’ – such as flooding.

Government has set a target to reduce direct emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037. DfE is responsible for 37% of emissions from public sector buildings, but has not yet set a target to reduce them. The NAO found that its current schemes will not bring it close to achieving a 75% reduction.

DfE plans to work on emissions targets for the education sector from 2025. It says it is exploring financing options to help accelerate its efforts, and intends to re-build the 500 schools in its 10-year programme – just 2% of the school estate – as net zero buildings.

Gareth Davies, Head of the NAO, said: “[The DfE] has an ambitious strategy for decarbonising the education estate but no plan for how it will achieve this or how much it is likely to cost.

“DfE is gathering some of the data it needs to effectively target its resources. It must now use this to improve its understanding of where schools are most at risk so it can balance addressing the most urgent risks while investing enough in maintenance, reducing carbon emissions, and climate change adaptation measures to achieve its objectives and secure longer-term value for money.”

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