A total of 214 schools are now confirmed as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) after the Department for Education updated its list of affected settings this morning.

Of these schools, 202 are currently offering full-time, face-to-face learning for all pupils, the DfE said.

Previously, in September, 174 schools were confirmed as having RAAC, with 22 having fully reopened at that time after moving to full or partial remote learning at the start of the new term.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan said this morning that all schools on the original RAAC list are now offering face-to-face learning in some capacity.

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Of the schools on the updated list, 12 are still providing a mix of face-to-face and remote learning - these include Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School, in East London, which was closed abruptly before moving to full remote learning in September.

Nearly all - 99.9 per cent - of responsible bodies have now returned questionnaires reporting whether they have suspected RAAC in their schools.

The DfE has also confirmed that all affected schools and colleges will either be offered capital grants to fund refurbishment work to permanently remove RAAC, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through the School Rebuilding Programme.

RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete panel that was used in the construction of thousands of public buildings from the 1950s onwards but that is now prone to collapse.

Ms Keegan said that she wanted to “reassure pupils, parents and staff” that the government is doing “whatever it takes to support our schools and colleges in responding to RAAC” and “minimise disruption to education”.

She added that “every school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated support” from the DfE’s team of 80 caseworkers. 

Call for a ‘clear timeline’ for RAAC work

But Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that “while ministers have made promises over funding and support for schools”, there is “no clear timeline for when the work will be completed and there appears to be no end in sight to this crisis.”

“Plans for rebuilding and for schools to return ‘to normal’ are even more nebulous”, he continued, saying that school leaders are “unsure” of how long temporary arrangements will last and are telling NAHT that they are “unsustainable” in the long-term.

DfE permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood and education minister Baroness Barran faced questions on RAAC from the Commons Education Select Committee last month, with former schools minister Robin Walker warning that it is “critical” for the DfE to establish how many schools are affected.

When pressed by Mr Walker on whether the DfE could have acted more quickly, Baroness Barran said: “I genuinely think the answer to this is that we could not have acted quicker.” 

At a meeting of the Commons Public Accounts Committee last month, chair Meg Hillier said she was “disappointed” that Ms Acland-Hood and DfE chief operating officer Jane Cunliffe had come without numbers to answer some of MPs’ questions about schools affected by RAAC.