A Devon school is among a further 41 in the UK where traces of the dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) that has affected more than 200 schools in the UK has been discovered. Exmouth Community College now joins Colyton Grammar School and Petroc College in Devon as having the dangerous material in its building.

Elliot Ball www.devonlive.com 

In September, headteacher Tom Inman issued a letter to parents confirming the discovery of RAAC. However, he stressed that the material had only been found in “one small part of the Gipsy Lane site”. He said that this area was an extension on an older building and affected four science laboratories.

Mr Inman said: “In line with the updated guidance, we have informed the DfE and closed this area as a precaution whilst further assessment and actions take place. Whilst RAAC is present, our surveyor is content that the building is showing no signs of failure, and therefore whilst we will not use the space there is no immediate danger. We are making the necessary changes to student timetables to minimise the impact on learning for students.”

The initial list of schools, which was finally released at the start of September after days of confusion, confirmed 147 education settings in England had been forced to put mitigations in place as of August 30. That rose to 173 as of September 14.

Education unions have been pushing for more information for weeks amid fears the true scale of the crisis is not yet known. The Department for Education finally published a new update today (October 19).

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said in a statement: “As of 16 October, there are 214 education settings with confirmed RAAC in some of their buildings. Thanks to the hard work of school and college leaders, 202 settings (94%) are providing full time face-to-face education for all pupils. 12 settings have hybrid arrangements in place.

“This may involve some remote learning on some days as not all pupils can currently receive full-time face-to-face education. There are no education settings with confirmed RAAC where all pupils are in full-time remote learning.”

She added: “I want to reassure pupils, parents and staff that this government is doing whatever it takes to support our schools and colleges in responding to RAAC and minimise disruption to education.”

Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The number of schools with RAAC continues to rise, and we are nowhere near the conclusion of this saga. Parents and the wider public need reassurance that the Department for Education has this problem under control. Their reluctance to publish on time speaks volumes, demonstrating that there is a failure at the heart of the Government to take seriously the various crises facing education.”

Paul Whiteman, NAHT General Secretary, said the rise in the number of affected schools was a major concern because of the disruption for children, parents and staff.

“While ministers have made promises over funding and support for schools, there is no clear timeline for when work will be completed and there appears to be no end in sight to this crisis,” he said. “The Government must set out clearly when it will provide the longer-term funding our school buildings desperately needed.”