Government contract aims to reduce the number of specialist care plans by a fifth
The government has quietly signed a contract targeting 20% cuts to the number of new education plans for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) to bring down costs, the Observer can reveal.
Then junior education minister Claire Coutinho – recently promoted to the cabinet as energy secretary– subsequently told MPs that no targets were in place.
Continue reading...Survey finds cost of living crisis has increased both number of children needing extra support and level of need
Schools are handing out clothing and food to children amid the cost of living crisis, while teachers report deteriorating hygiene among pupils as families cut back on brushing teeth, showering and even flushing the toilet.
According to a survey of schools in England, nine out of 10 said they were providing clothing and uniforms for students, while seven out of 10 were giving out food in the form of parcels, food bank provisions, vouchers or subsidised breakfasts.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer likens the Tories to ‘cowboy builders’ as the PM insists the government acted decisively in response to the problem
The DfE list shows pupils at 24 schools across England will receive some remote learning because of the concrete crisis, with four schools switching to fully remote learning, PA Media reports.
And the list shows 19 schools where the start of term has had to be delayed as a result of collapse-prone concrete.
Continue reading...Newly published government list identifies 147 schools as having potentially dangerous concrete
Twenty-four schools across England will receive some remote learning because of the concrete crisis, according to a newly published government list of schools identified as having a type of potentially dangerous concrete
They include four where lessons have been taking place on a fully remote basis since the weekend, along with 20 where there is a mix of face-to-face and remote learning.
Continue reading...Willowbrook Mead primary will now shut for a day to move furniture back after scramble to create new spaces
A school that scrambled to set up temporary classrooms after the Department for Education (DfE) ordered closures because of Raac has received a government apology after it turned out it did not have the crumbly concrete after all.
The government has published a list of 145 schools with Raac, nine fewer than it announced last Thursday, suggesting that last week’s order to close buildings was overcautious in several cases.
Continue reading...Only four schools were rebuilt in 2021 in government scheme intended to cover 500 schools over 10-year period
More than half of English schools that are so dilapidated they are at risk of partial closure were refused money under the government’s school rebuilding scheme, Department for Education (DfE) statistics show.
Amid mounting concerns about a wider apparent neglect of the schools estate in recent years, beyond the immediate alarm about crumbling concrete panels, it emerged that of 500 rebuilt schools planned for England over 10 years from 2020, just four were completed in 2021.
Continue reading...Opposition posts spoof on education department’s ‘most schools unaffected’ tweet, referencing minimisation of shark attacks
Labour has launched a tongue-in-cheek attack on the government’s response to the school buildings crisis, comparing the response of the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, to that of the fictional mayor in Jaws.
Keegan on Tuesday defended her department’s handling of the problems surrounding crumbling concrete, publishing a Twitter picture with the phrases “Raac update” and “Most schools unaffected”.
Continue reading...Leader of a secondary school in Essex warns upheaval could have similar negative impact to that caused by Covid lockdowns
A headteacher whose 830 pupils must learn semi-remotely for at least a term because of the schools concrete crisis has warned that the upheaval could cause a recurrence of the negative mental health impact of Covid lockdowns.
James Saunders, the leader of Honywood school in Coggeshall, Essex, fears that year-seven students entering their first term at secondary school could face future struggles after the Department for Education last week ordered the closure of 22 classrooms as part of a nationwide safety alert.
Continue reading...PM dismissed claims that he failed to properly fund school rebuilding plans when he was chancellor
Lisa Nandy has been made shadow cabinet minister for international development. She was shadow levelling up secretary.
Lisa Nandy MP @LisaNandy has been appointed Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development.
Continue reading...PM shown evidence of ‘critical risk to life’ when chancellor, says former top civil servant at Department for Education
Rishi Sunak refused to properly fund a school rebuilding programme when he was chancellor, despite officials presenting evidence that there was “a critical risk to life” from crumbling concrete panels, the Department for Education’s former head civil servant has said.
After the department told Sunak’s Treasury that there was a need to rebuild 300 to 400 schools a year in England, he gave funding for only 100, which was then halved to 50, said Jonathan Slater, the permanent secretary of the department from 2016 to 2020.
Continue reading...Party to use parliamentary mechanism to force reveal of English schools affected by concrete safety crisis
Labour plans to force a vote to compel the government to reveal the full list of schools affected by the Raac building safety crisis.
It comes amid growing demands for transparency over the extent of the impact of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) in public buildings.
Continue reading...Senior civil servant says ‘many alerts’ crossed education secretary’s desk, but UK government was more concerned with saving money
A senior civil service whistleblower has told the Observer that Tory ministers and their political advisers were “dangerously complacent” about crumbling school buildings constructed with aerated concrete, and that they were more concerned with saving money than improving safety.
The source, who worked in the private office of Nadhim Zahawi, the then education secretary, saw regular alerts crossing his desk. He said ministers and special advisers were “trying to get away with spending as little as they could” and hoping to “make do” rather than treating the problem with the urgency it required.
Continue reading...Labour demands urgent audit of government’s handling of longstanding concerns about Raac
England’s growing buildings crisis could expand beyond schools to other public buildings such as hospitals and courts, experts have said.
More than 100 schools were forced to partially or fully close this week after a dramatic escalation of the government’s approach towards crumbling concrete.
Continue reading...Labour calls for audit of handling of longstanding safety fears as government pledges to fund repairs expected to cost at least £100m
Headteachers are racing to find temporary classrooms for thousands of children amid a growing building safety crisis that has left ministers under pressure to explain why they were slow to shut buildings in more than 100 schools.
With the new academic year due to start next week, Labour demanded an urgent audit of the government’s handling of longstanding safety fears about aerated concrete found in the roofs, floors and walls of hundreds of schools, hospitals and other public buildings.
Continue reading...From Essex to Cumbria, many are dismayed by timing of the government’s action on aerated concrete in buildings
On Thursday, the emails that have left headteachers reeling started to arrive. A ruling from ministers in the Department for Education said their schools, built using potentially dangerous concrete, would need to close or partially close.
Within hours, parents and children had been informed. Many were left angry and confused by the timing of the announcement, just before the start of a new school year. Schools across England were left with days to improvise temporary classrooms from marquees or empty office buildings, or arrange to share space with unaffected schools. The majority of schools will open as usual but for tens of thousands of pupils the new academic year will start like no other.
Continue reading...Schools minister Nick Gibb said the collapse happened at a school previously thought to have been at no risk from aerated concrete
We want to speak to school leaders and staff at affected schools or colleges in England. Does your building contain aerated concrete? What are you planning to do?
What communications have you received? How will this affect you?
Continue reading...Nick Gibb says buildings continue to be surveyed for risk of collapse after over 100 were told to shut
The schools minister has warned more schools in England could face closure after more than 100 were told to shut just days before term starts for thousands of pupils.
The government has refused to publicly reveal the 104 education facilities that have been told to shut buildings due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a material at risk of collapse.
Continue reading...A week before start of term, DfE says buildings should be taken out of use regardless of assessed risk
More than 100 schools are facing the immediate closure of buildings constructed from potentially dangerous aerated concrete panels, plunging the beginning of term into chaos for thousands of pupils.
The government has found that 156 schools in England have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) materials but only 52 have put mitigations in place against risks including collapse, it admitted on Thursday. Engineers have warned the material is at risk of cracking and spalling and of “shear failure”.
Continue reading...DfE guidance sent days before start of term means students and teachers at dozens of schools in England will need to be moved off site
Thousands of pupils in England may have to begin the autumn term taking lessons remotely after the government ordered more than 100 schools to immediately shut buildings made with aerated concrete until safety work is undertaken.
The guidance from the Department for Education was sent to 156 schools and colleges just days before the start of the new school year.
Continue reading...North-east school leaders call for government to recognise challenges for pupils in different parts of England
The largest gap on record between top GCSE grades awarded to pupils in London and those in north-east England has prompted warnings of a “continuing widening” in the north-south education divide.
School leaders in the north-east accused the government of “London-centric” policies, while Labour said it showed that “levelling up is dead and buried” through the failure to help disadvantaged communities.
Continue reading...