Eight unions representing teachers and school workers, as well the body for governors, have written to Rishi Sunak demanding an extra £4.4bn annually to ensure buildings are safe for children in England.
They say the crisis involving reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), which has cast a shadow over the start of the term and has been found in 174 schools in England so far, has exposed the chronic underfunding of school buildings in recent years.
Unions say many are unsafe and not fit for purpose. The additional funding would bring total annual investment in the ageing school estate up to £7bn, which is what officials at the Department for Education (DfE) have previously recommended.
The deteriorating condition of the school estate has long been a concern, but the DfE has failed to secure necessary funding from the Treasury. The unions are hoping the decision by Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, to suddenly close all school buildings with Raac before the start of the autumn term will force the chancellor to stump up more cash in his autumn statement on 22 November.
Unions met Keegan last week but are concerned there is still no timeframe for when all schools at risk from Raac will be investigated by structural engineers and no deadlineto clear Raac from every school.
While the lifespan of Raac was known for years, and the potential risks, the alert followed a series of sudden failures of Raac-built structures in recent months, which forced large numbers of headteachers and schools to make alternative arrangements.
The union letter says: “Parents, school staff and children and young people have been alarmed to hear – at the start of the new academic year – about crumbling school buildings and the deterioration of the school estate, which could present a very serious risk to their safety.
“The crisis involving reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete has shone a broader light on the crippling underfunding of our school buildings, which has left many unsafe and no longer fit for purpose.”
It says parents and teachers have long complained about “crumbling school buildings, asbestos, leaking roofs, and temporary accommodation that had long outlived their intended lifespan”.
It continues: “It is the duty of the UK government to protect the safety of pupils, teachers and other school workers. Moreover, your chancellor stated that the government would ‘spend what it takes’ to deal with the crisis.
“If these words are to become reality, we call on the government to invest at least an extra £4.4bn annually to upgrade school buildings at the upcoming autumn statement, bringing the total yearly spend to the £7bn your own officials have previously recommended.
“This will help ensure this crisis never happens again and show the government is prepared to spend whatever it takes to keep children safe in education.”
The unions signed up to the letter are the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Association of Head Teachers, the NASUWT teachers’ union, the National Education Union, Unison, Unite, Community, the GMB and the National Governance Association.
A DfE spokesperson said: “We have allocated over £15bn to improve the school estate since 2015, including £1.8bn in 2023-24. All schools where Raac is confirmed will be provided with funding including emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe. The department will also fund longer term refurbishment or rebuilding projects to rectify the issue in the long term.”
