SCHOOLS across Reading are being checked to ensure they are safe as the new school year gets underway.
Days before term was due to start, the government announced that more than 100 schools across the country wouldn’t open due to safety concerns caused by Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
There have been incidents where some school buildings have seen structural damage caused by the concrete which was popular for construction work. The concrete is aerated, and if water gets into the bubbles it can expand, causing the structure to become unsafe.
The government published a list as of September 6, and no Reading schools area on it.
In an article published in The Sun on Sunday, September 3, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said of the affected schools, there was no choice other than to shut them because safety was paramount.
“Where schools tell us RAAC is suspected, we send out an engineer to confirm it. In most cases, RAAC isn’t present, but that work means we have a clear picture of where RAAC is,” she wrote, adding: “parents can be reassured that the vast majority of schools are not and will not be affected”.
Reading Borough Council has been carrying out its own work to ensure that all schools are safe for staff and pupils to attend.
A spokesperson told Reading Today: “The Department for Education (DfE) has asked all bodies responsible for school buildings to confirm whether RAAC is present and to assess its condition.
“That work is ongoing in Reading and specialist surveyors have confirmed, of the local authority-maintained schools visited to date, no Reading school has at this stage been identified with such issues.
“A very small number of schools remain to be assessed and these should be completed over the coming days.
“Local academy trusts have also been contacted by the DfE to carry out their own reviews and BFFC (Brighter Futures for Children) have followed this up by writing directly to the trusts. Again, no issues have been reported to date.”
