The Department for Education is looking to improve its understanding of future school building safety risks by commissioning research into older buildings.
The research of older building construction types is designed to “identify future issues that could present themselves as the school estate ages”, the department has said.
It will focus particularly on post-war buildings constructed between 1945 and 1990, and is expected to include intrusive structural surveys and policy recommendations to mitigate future building risks.
It is also expected to include the use of artificial intelligence modelling to identify and learn specific types of defects experienced in older buildings and link this to condition data the department holds about schools to predict the “likely nature of building deterioration”.
Hopes for correction to ‘perpetual underinvestment’
School leaders have said they hope the research findings lead the government to “correct perpetual underinvestment in the school estate”.
It follows a major controversy surrounding the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in older school buildings last year.
Just before schools went back for the 2023-24 academic year, the DfE advised schools to vacate all areas known to contain RAAC - where previously they had only been advised to avoid “critical” areas.
RAAC was used most commonly in constructions between the 1950s and the mid-1990s.
An early engagement notice on the planned building research has been published by the department today setting out what is expected to be included. It closes on 15 July.
DfE chief operating officer Jane Cunliffe told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in July 2023 that the department planned to carry out a research study of structural issues in school buildings and what maintenance they might need.
She said: “We hope to start that research study soon, but it has taken a little longer than expected, partly because of the need to manage the asbestos while even doing those invasive surveys.”
Ms Cunliffe further told MPs at the time that the research aimed to look at about 200 buildings, and may have to be done during the school holidays.
The research would then be used to look at whether certain system builds needed to be prioritised for capital funding going forward, she added.
A DfE spokesperson said today: “We are the first government in history to survey the whole of the school estate - ensuring the safety of our pupils and staff.
“We are supporting this work further and engaging with the sector to establish a research study of older building construction types to identify future issues that could present themselves as the school estate ages.”
Managing older school buildings
The DfE published guidance in April on managing older school buildings. The guidance set out several common construction types in the school estate along with things to consider in their maintenance.
For example, a type of temporary accommodation called a HORSA hut was stated to be beyond its expected lifespan and needed careful maintenance.
A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) last year warned that the DfE did not have sufficient information to manage critical risks to the safety of pupils and staff coming from school building deterioration.
The NAO estimated that 700,000 pupils were learning in buildings requiring major repairs.
The government is currently conducting Condition Data Collection 2 - a survey programme to understand the condition of the school estate and target funding.
Schools minister Damian Hinds said over half of state schools and colleges have been visited already, and the programme is due to be completed by 2026.
Advice to schools was changed after instances over the summer of RAAC planks in schools failing.
MPs also said they were “extremely concerned” over school building safety late last year. While many of the PAC’s recommendations were around RAAC, the committee also urged the DfE to set out a strategy responsible bodies can use to make sure building repairs have value for money.
Maintaining the school estate
There are now 513 schools in the DfE’s School Rebuilding Programme, which funds major rebuilds or refurbishments of schools in the worst condition.
The DfE estimated in 2020 that it would cost £11.4 billion to return the entire school estate to good condition.
The Office of Government Property estimated in 2019 that the DfE would most likely need £7.1 billion just to maintain the school estate.
Unions have made repeated calls for capital funding for school buildings to be uplifted to address issues.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “While we welcome any work to improve the safety of the school estate, this does feel like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.”
He added that a third of English school buildings are past their estimated initial design life and said that issues with RAAC and asbestos “have been known about for some time, but action has been far too slow and definitive”.
Mr Di’Iasio added: “We hope this research compels the DfE to correct their perpetual underinvestment in the school estate and provide all pupils and staff with buildings that are safe and fit for purpose.”
‘Long overdue’ research
James Bowen, assistant general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said this research is “long overdue”.
He said: “The work must now be carried out swiftly and thoroughly, and complement the ongoing Condition Data Collection 2 surveys of all government-funded school and college buildings.
“It must then be acted upon with an ambitious, properly funded plan to ensure the school estate is safe and fit for purpose and that risks are continuously monitored as buildings age.”
Dame Meg Hillier, MP and chair of PAC, said: “Our committee has long called for the DfE to work up a better picture of the condition of our school estate, particularly when it comes to RAAC and asbestos.
“It is welcome to see the department getting on to the front foot in sourcing better quality information in the spirit of our recommendations, and we look forward to this data informing future scrutiny.”
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