Category Archives: England

Raac crisis: pupils at 24 schools in England forced to study remotely

Posted on by

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...

More than half of dilapidated English schools were refused rebuilding money

Posted on by

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...

Schools concrete crisis is risk to pupils’ mental health, headteacher warns

Posted on by

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...

Sunak refused to fully fund repairs of England’s crumbling schools, says ex-official

Posted on by

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...

Owners of 100,000 properties held by foreign shell companies unknown despite new UK laws

Posted on by

Loopholes are used to obscure ownership of two-thirds of English and Welsh properties held by foreign shell companies

More than two-thirds of English and Welsh properties held by foreign shell companies do not report the identity of their owners, according to analysis that found significant flaws in laws meant to prevent oligarchs from hiding their wealth.

The UK government hurriedly introduced a register of overseas entities in August 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February that year, in an attempt to “flush out corrupt elites laundering money through UK property”. However, critics said there were severe flaws in the rules from the start.

Continue reading...

Ministers were ‘dangerously complacent’ on school safety, whistleblower reveals

Posted on by

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...

England’s concrete crisis could extend to hospitals and courts, experts say

Posted on by

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...

‘An absolute nightmare’: teachers and parents shocked by concrete closures in England’s schools

Posted on by

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...

‘Wyke whiff’ befouls Dorset village – and angry residents have had enough

Posted on by

People say summer stink has been ‘horrendous’, with blame put on a Wessex Water sewage works

The Dorset village of Wyke Regis has a lot going for it: sunsets across Lyme Bay, views of Chesil Beach’s spectacular pebbly sweep, proximity to great swimming and sailing spots.

But local people are not having a great time of it at the moment because of what has been called the “Wyke whiff”, an unpleasant smell that forces them to keep windows shut tight and ruins the simple pleasure of sitting out in the sunshine.

Continue reading...

More English schools could close due to crumbling concrete, minister warns

Posted on by

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...

English schools told to close buildings made with crumble-risk concrete

Posted on by

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...

Nottinghamshire police officer dies after being hit by train

Posted on by

Sgt Graham Saville had been trying to help distressed man on tracks near Newark Northgate station

A police officer has died after being hit by a train while trying to save a distressed man on the tracks, Nottinghamshire police have said.

British Transport Police said they were called to the line near Newark Northgate station at about 7.10pm on Thursday evening after reports of a casualty on the tracks.

Continue reading...

English councils moving homeless families out of areas at almost three times official rate

Posted on by

Exclusive: Data shows more than 34,000 households placed out of area last year, with some moved more than 200 miles away

Councils are moving homeless families out of their neighbourhoods at almost three times the rate that has been officially recognised, and some have been uprooted hundreds of miles from their support networks, according to research.

Data released under freedom of information (FoI) revealed that 34,418 households were placed out of area last year, based on responses from 80% of English councils. This incomplete figure suggests a total 172% above what was officially recorded for the previous year.

Continue reading...

Labour blames postcode lottery in cancer care in England for delays

Posted on by

Analysis also reveals patients in more deprived areas are more likely to have their cancer diagnosed late

A postcode lottery in cancer care means more than one-fifth of patients with cancerous tumours wait longer than two months to have them removed in some parts of England, Labour has claimed.

Analysis of NHS data exposes regional inequalities in cancer treatments, with one in five patients receiving care following a cancer diagnosis in the West Midlands waiting longer than two months to have their tumours removed.

Continue reading...

Two men arrested over Crooked House pub fire released on bail

Posted on by

Suspects, aged 66 and 33, released by Staffordshire police investigating Himley blaze

Two men arrested after a fire at the Crooked House pub in the West Midlands have been released on bail, with detectives continuing to appeal for information.

A 66-year-old man from Dudley and a 33-year-old man from Milton Keynes were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Woman arrested after eight-year-old girl dies in Portsmouth balcony fall

Posted on by

Suspect, 43, held over child neglect after girl believed to have fallen from sixth-floor flat

An eight-year-old girl has died after apparently falling from a balcony in a tower block in Portsmouth.

A 43-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of child neglect and was being questioned by police about the fall at Pickwick House, to which police and paramedics were called at 6.50pm on Thursday. About a dozen police cars were seen parked outside the 11-storey block of flats and a wide cordon was in place.

Continue reading...

Record north-south gap in top GCSE grades blamed on ‘London-centric policies’

Posted on by

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...

Former Met police officer jailed for rape of female colleague and 16-year-old girl

Posted on by

Judge says force protected Adam Provan by ignoring officer’s complaints, allowing him to attack teenager

The Metropolitan police protected a predatory rapist within their ranks, dismissing the complaints of one of his victims and leaving him free to attack a teenager, a judge has said.

Adam Provan, 44, was on Tuesday jailed for 16 years, followed by eight years on licence, for eight counts of raping two victims between 2003 and 2010.

Continue reading...

Home Office considered using overseas workers in case of disease on Bibby Stockholm

Posted on by

Ministers had planned to issue visa waivers to cover staff absences on barge housing asylum seekers

The Home Office considered drafting in workers from overseas using a visa waiver scheme in the event of an outbreak of an infectious disease on the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate asylum seekers, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

The barge is moored in Portland, Dorset. It was opened to asylum seekers on 7 August as a key part of the government’s “small boats week” to signal that it was implementing its undertakings to move asylum seekers out of hotels. However, in a blow to this policy the barge was evacuated just four days later after legionella bacteria was found in the barge’s water pipes.

Continue reading...