114 West Sussex schools at potential risk of collapse

Last week the county council assured parents that ‘West Sussex County Council is aware of the RAAC issue and has already completed a review of records for maintained schools. No maintained schools have been identified from records as containing any indicating RAAC construction.’

Unfortunately, questions raised by Labour West Sussex county councillors reveal that detailed information on school materials only exists for the period since Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete ceased to be used in schools and that despite years of warnings, not a single one of the 114 schools identified as potentially containing deadly concrete has so far undergone inspection for RAAC.

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete was used in the construction of schools and colleges from the 1950s until the mid-1990s. While the material looks like standard concrete, it is significantly less durable and is at risk of failure without warning, resulting in the decision of the DfE last week to instruct schools not to allow pupils into buildings where the material is present.

The consequence of this lack of action is that today, pupils and teachers in 114 schools in West Sussex are still using buildings potentially just as dangerous as those the Government has banned children from entering.

Calling for action, Peter Lamb said:

“It is a disgrace that despite years of warnings, the county still has yet to inspect any of the 114 schools in Crawley and across the county which are identified as being at risk of containing deadly concrete.

“Not only does this mean that local children are currently attending schools which are potentially as dangerous as those which have been closed, but that the council has chosen to obfuscate rather than be transparent with parents about the risks.

“The most important part of crisis management is dealing with the crisis, not your reputation. For the safety pupils and teachers I’m calling on the council to fast-track the inspections and publish the full list of 114 local schools potentially containing RAAC.”