BRITAIN’S dodgy concrete crisis expanded beyond schools last night — with other buildings also feared at risk of collapse.
Many parents were last night in limbo over whether their children would be returning to school for the start of the new term.
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Thousands of kids were braced for lockdown-style remote learning after 156 schools were found to have dangerous levels of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).
Schools minister Nick Gibb warned the tally could rise, saying: “There may be more as questionnaires continue to be surveyed.”
The Government is refusing to publish a list of the schools where Raac — a lightweight form of concrete used in the 1960s and 80s — has been deemed unsafe.
Mr Gibb said he would only identify the schools once rebuilding plans have been put in place — and confirmed the Treasury would foot the bill for repair jobs.
Raac is mainly found in roofs and was only given a useable lifespan of about 30 years. It is liable to collapse if it gets wet such as if a roof leaks.
Fears are now growing for the safety of other public buildings.
Four job centres have been identified as containing the same lightweight material as the affected classrooms, The Sun can reveal.
Prisons are also being probed — while several hospitals are already undergoing a refit.
Experts said the problem was rife and threatened “sudden and catastrophic” consequences.
Education officials have been investigating the problem since an incident at a school in Stevenage, Herts, in 2018.
Ministers claim the sudden order to stop using some classrooms came after a roof fell in at a school over the summer.
Mr Gibb said: “A beam that had no sign it was a critical risk and was thought to be safe, collapsed.”
The new advice spelled confusion and anger for teachers, parents and local authorities trying to get back to normal following Covid and damaging strikes.
Some schools were yesterday seen erecting marquees to use as mobile classrooms, while others taped off areas of their buildings deemed unsafe.
Staff at Willowbrook Mead Academy in Leicester were seen gutting their classrooms of tables, chairs and equipment.
Marquees were erected outside St Francis Catholic Primary School in Ascot, Berks and scaffolding was put up around Hornsey School for Girls in North London.
The head of a school for children with special needs had hoped to welcome kids back next week.
Instead, Louise Robinson had to call parents to say Kingsdown School in Southend, Essex, would be closed due to concrete concerns.
She said: “We’re hoping a solution can be found that allows us to open, at least partially.”
It also emerged a school was given just 24 hours to close due to Raac worries in April — and spread its 500 pupils across four sites, including a mosque’s community hall and a manor house.
Luke Whitney, head of Mayflower Primary in Leicester, said: “ It was an absolute nightmare.”
Half of the pupils are now back on the site where a new school is being built.
Last night Education Secretary Gillian Keegan wrote to all MPs assuring that schools and nurseries they suspect have Raac will be surveyed “within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days”.
She added: “We will continue to press any responsible body that has not conducted checks of all its school buildings for suspected Raac to do so.”
Government sources were playing down the number of schools they expect to fully close to around 20 or 30.
Around 20 hospitals are undergoing refurb work backed by a £698million fund with the aim of eradicating the concrete by 2035.
The Ministry of Justice has also been probing prisons feared to contain the outdated material.
Last week Harrow crown court, North West London, was forced to close when Raac was discovered.
Six other courts were found to contain the concrete but have been declared structurally sound.
Of four job centres identified with Raac in a recent audit, one has been taken out of use and another is empty.
A third is in good condition and the fourth is the landlord’s responsibility.
Chris Goodier, professor of construction engineering and materials at Loughborough University, said: “The scale of problem is much bigger than schools.
“It covers much of the building stock in the country. This includes health, defence, justice, local government, national government, and a lot of the private sector.
“Most towns in the country have old factories and offices and some of those will have Raac.”
Matt Byatt, president of the Institution of Structural Engineers, added: “It is the responsibility of building owners and estate managers to ensure buildings are safe.
“The information was out there – everyone including all Government departments were aware of it.
“Luckily it is being dealt with now. You can’t wait for people to get hurt before making these kinds of decisions.”
Labour last night urged PM Rishi Sunak to order a government-wide probe to assess the scale of the problem.
The party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “An urgent, full audit is required to find out the extent that Conservative ministers failed to replace this dangerous concrete across the public sector estate.”
A Government spokesperson said it has “acted decisively to tackle this issue and has taken a proportionate approach informed by experts”.
They added: “That professional advice on Raac has evolved over time, from advice in the 1990s that Raac did not pose a safety hazard to more recent advice on identifying and assessing structural adequacy.”
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SPECIAL PUPILS DASHED
By Jack Elsom
A SPECIAL needs school is among those forced to close due to dodgy concrete.
Parents at Kingsdown School in Southend, Essex, were told just days before term started it would be shut.
Headteacher Louise Robinson said she had to have the “difficult conversations” with mums and dads.
The school’s main building has been ordered to be closed, which has special equipment inside that the students need and now cannot be accessed.
Local councillor Lydia Hyde said the situation was “awful”, adding: “The main building of the school has been affected, no-one can go in it, it’s riddled with the stuff unfortunately.”
She said that the closure was particularly troubling in this case as “change can be detrimental” for the pupils.
Kingsdown school takes children aged between three and 14 with severe learning difficulties and physical disabilities.
Head Ms Robinson said: “We’re hoping that a solution can be found that allows us to open the school, at least partially, but that entirely relies on ensuring the safety of our pupils and staff, and approval by DfE.”
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