St Leonard’s Catholic School in Durham was among the schools in England forced to close due to the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) on the school site. Elliott, an eleven-year-old student who was excited to start the school year, was meeting a new friend due to start at the same school when the announcement was made. Instead of attending school, he has been doing six hours a day of online lessons from home, where he feels “quite isolated.” Amanda, Elliott’s mother, says her son had been “really looking forward to making new friends. Not being able to do that in the normal way has really had an impact on him.”
Since the crisis emerged, 174 schools in England were confirmed to have Raac, which is now considered a safety risk. Some of these schools underwent remote learning, while others required temporary classrooms, and one school closed completely. The government has not released up-to-date figures since last month, despite promising fortnightly updates. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said planning for St Leonard’s rebuilding work would start before the end of this year. Meanwhile, an estimated 700,000 children in England are being taught in unsafe or ageing school buildings that need major repairs, according to a National Audit Office report.
Aylesford School, a school in Warwick, has had to close most of its classrooms because of asbestos, while more than 30 of its classrooms are currently not in use. The school is on the DfE’s “complex case” list, and around 18 temporary classrooms will be installed on netball courts, which are expected in early November. Siobhan McKenna feels “overwhelmed” by having her Aylesford daughter at home, wanting the GCSE students to be able to use other schools’ practical teaching facilities, such as science labs. Joolz Phillips’ children, one going to school and the other learning from home, have been “forgotten.” Phillips has been helping other parents who are unable to work from home.
As the government struggles to keep up with school infrastructure problems, the students are often left alone. As Joolz Phillips says, “Unless you’re living in this right now, you do not understand what is going on.
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