Concrete crisis won’t mean return to “dark” lockdowns Education Secretary vows

GILLIAN Keegan has promised parents there will be no “return to the dark days of school lockdowns” because of the dodgy concrete crisis.

Families have seen the start of term thrown into chaos after dangerous building material was discovered in 156 schools across England.

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Kids face a return to zoom lessons at home, being moved into other schools or taught in marquees in playgrounds while the crisis is dealt with.

The Education Secretary said disrupting the opening of schools was the “very last thing I wanted to do” – but she had no choice.

Writing exclusively in The Sun on Sunday, she said: “I understand how important the start of each new school year is for families across this country

“So no one should be under any illusions over how carefully we took the decision to close even a small number of classrooms.

“The simple fact is we had no choice.

“As Secretary of State for Education my first duty is to protect the safety of pupils, teachers and school workers across this country.

“But I want to reassure families that this is not a return to the dark days of school lockdowns.”

In her frankest comments yet on the scandal, she added: “Disrupting schools’ plans for the new term so close to children going back was the very last thing I wanted to do, but doing anything else with the evidence presented to us would have been unforgivable.”

Whitehall is braced for the dodgy concrete scandal to widen.

An army of structural engineers is being sent into hundreds more schools from Monday to check for signs of the material – known as RAAC.

Hospitals, courts and job centres are also blighted.

The concrete – used from around the 1950s and 1960s – has large air bubbles in it which means it can suddenly collapse.

Ministers say they are taking an ultra cautious approach in closing some schools and classrooms because they cannot risk kids getting hurt.

Department of Education officials have been investigating the issue since a school ceiling collapsed in Gravesend Kent in 2018.

But they issued an urgent order to some schools to stay shut after another roof fell in late in the summer.

Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin is chairing a Whitehall meeting on the crisis on Monday.

Rachel de Souza Children’s Commissioner for England said: “After lockdown and the disturbance in Children’s lives, everything must now be done now as a matter of urgency to ensure the impact on children’s learning is minimised.”

Anne Longfield, England’s former Childrens’ Commisioner who now heads up the Commission on Young Lives, called for “Nightingale Schools” and added: “We should have an emergency backup plan for all schools around the country in case they cannot access the building.

“For these schools today the government needs to put in place a Nightingale programme to make sure those children are able to attend school in a building – whatever that might be.”

She suggested public buildings that are “fit for purpose” such as town halls could be used.