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All schools in England that received grant funding to pay for the removal of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) should be free of it by the end of this parliament, the education secretary has pledged.Setting out a new timeline for dealing with the crumbling concrete crisis in schools, Bridget Phillipson said: “We inherited a crumbling education estate, but I won’t let that be our legacy.“After years of neglect, we are giving every child a safe and high-quality classroom where they can focus on learning – by setting clear timelines for the permanent removal of Raac from schools and colleges.”Raac, which deteriorates over time and can be vulnerable to structural collapse, has already been permanently removed from 62 schools and colleges, the government confirmed, but repairs are yet to be completed in almost 50 other school buildings.The pressure is now on to complete the work before the next election. Phillipson also pledged that delivery of the 123 Raac-affected schools to be redeveloped under the government’s school rebuilding programme would get under way by the end of this parliament. More than half of those are already in progress.“It’s about more than just buildings,” Phillipson said, “it’s about showing children that their education matters, their futures matter, and this government is determined to give them the best possible start in life.”Although the potential dangers of Raac had been known about for some years, the crisis surfaced in 2023 when more than 100 schools were told just days before the new academic year that they should close – either partially or fully – because of concerns about ageing concrete, plunging the beginning of the new term into chaos.Of the 22,000 schools and colleges in England, 237 (about 1%) were found to have Raac in some areas of their buildings. The safety crisis meant some pupils had to return to the remote learning employed during the pandemic while others were moved into emergency alternative spaces to learn.England has an ageing school estate that is in a poor state of repair. In 2010, a long-planned £55bn schools rebuilding programme, Building Schools for the Future, was scrapped by the then education secretary, Michael Gove, during the first months of the coalition government. He has since said he regretted the decision.The Labour government has confirmed £38bn in total capital investment over the next five years, which it says will take the Department for Education’s capital investment to a level not seen since 2010-11.The children and families minister, Josh MacAlister, will give evidence about the progress of Raac repairs to MPs on the education select committee on Tuesday.
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