Call for action on school buildings

Unions have called on the government to come clean about, and act on, the state of disrepair in schools as the Labour Party tried to force it to reveal details of the location and condition of school buildings the government itself has admitted are “very likely” to collapse.

The Department for Education (DfE) identified the collapse of some school blocks as one of six key risks in its 2022 annual report. And earlier this year, seven education unions wrote to the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, calling for urgent action to tackle the risks caused by the historical use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

During an Opposition Day Debate in Parliament, Labour attempted to force the government to publish data from surveys of school buildings carried out between 2017 and 2019 by 5 June 2023.

Schools minister Nick Gibb instead pledged to publish full school building data before the end of the summer recess. This followed a DfE allocation of £456 million to improve school buildings.

NAHT headteachers’ union general secretary Paul Whiteman said: “Continued failure to act with the necessary urgency risks putting the lives of children and school staff at risk.”

UNISON public services union head of education Mike Short described the situation as “a disaster waiting to happen”.

And he said the recently announced increase in 2023 schools funding “falls a long way short of what’s needed to make schools safe”.